
Glass JlJ. 

Book '-1x4- 






I 

THE 

GERMANIA and AGRICOLA, ~^^l 

AND ALSO 

SELECTIONS FROM THE ANNALS, 

OF 

TACITUS. 



ENGLISH NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY. 



CHARLES ANTHON, LL.D., 

PROFESSOR OF THE GREEK AND LATIN LANGUAGES IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE, 
NEW YORK, AND RECTOR OF THE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL. 



NEW YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

329 & 331 PEARL STREET, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 



\ 






4, 



& 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty- three, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

in the Clerk's Office ol the District Court o( the Southern District 
of New York. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface v 

Life and Writings of Tacitus xi 

Sternma of the Family of Augustus xvii 

Remarks on the Style of Tacitus xxi 

Index to Remarks lvii 

The Germania 1 

The Agricola 25 

Annals, Book 1 57 

" II. 105 

" III., Chap. I.-XVIII 151 

Notes 163 

Geographical Index 353 



PREFACE. 



The " Grermania" and "Agricola" of Tacitus were 
published, some years ago, by the editor of the pres- 
ent work, with English notes and other subsidiary 
matter, as a text-book for the younger classes in our 
3olleges. The number of editions through which the 
volume has since passed affords a very flattering 
proof, that the mode of annotation adopted in it has 
been found, when fairly tested, to be the only one 
that can prove of any real service to the student. It 
certainly is the only one that can relieve classical in- 
struction from the opprobrium, under which it too 
often justly labors, of being little more than a mere 
ringing of a few unmeaning changes upon the letters 
and syllables of some academical horn-book. 

Encouraged by the success which has attended his 
previous efforts, the editor has been induced to pre- 
pare a new work, which, while it retains in a con- 
densed form all that was important in its predecessor, 
shall at the same time furnish the student with a 
more extensive course of reading from the same au- 
thor, and make him still more familiar with the pe- 
culiarities of the style of Tacitus. With this view, 
two entire books of the Annals and some portion of 
a third one have been added to the " Grermania" and 
" Agricola." Should the system of annotation pur- 
sued in the part thus added prove acceptable, the ed- 



Vi PREFACE. 

itor will, at no distant day, prepare a complete edi- 
tion of both the Annals and History. 

The basis of the present work, as far as the end 
of the First Book of the Annals, is the English edition 
of Dr. Smith, published in 1840, and of which a re- 
print appeared in 1850. The notes to Smith's edi- 
tion are principally selected from the commentaries 
of Ruperti, Passow, and "Walch, and, as far as they 
go, are well adapted to the purposes of explanation. 
It has been the object of the American editor, how- 
ever, to render these notes still more useful by addi- 
tional selections from the works of other scholars, 
and by a more frequent translation of difficult or ob- 
scure passages. Every obstacle, indeed, of this kind 
has been honestly encountered, even if the result may 
not always have proved a successful one. One great 
defect in the English edition is the omission of almost 
all special reference to the authorities whence the 
notes have been obtained. The American editor hag 
endeavored to supply this deficiency, as far as lay 
within his power, more particularly in the comment- 
ary on the " G-ermania." The notes on the " Agric- 
ola," in the English edition, are pretty much one 
continuous selection from the excellent commentary 
of Walch, to which, however, the American editor 
has added much valuable matter, as well from the 
same source as from the observations of Hitter and 
Wex. The notes of Walch on the Agricola consist, 
in the original G-erman, of more than three hundred 
closely printed octavo pages, and form one of the most 
useful commentaries ever published upon any clas- 
sical author. 



PREFACE. VH 

But though important materials have been obtain- 
ed from the sources just mentioned, others equally val- 
uable have been procured from the edition of the An- 
nals by Nipperdey, the notes to which have been 
translated by the Rev. Henry Browne, and are pub- 
lished in the series of Arnold's Classics. Nipperdey's 
work forms one of the collection of Haupt and Sauppe, 
now in a course of publication from the Leipsic press. 
His notes, as translated by Browne, have constantly 
been compared with the Grerman original, and many 
important errors have been corrected. They have not, 
however, been slavishly followed in the present work. 
Their form has very frequently been altered, and their 
substance has on numerous occasions been material- 
ly enlarged. Sometimes, again, Nipperdey's conclu- 
sions have not been admitted, but others have been 
adopted in their place, which appear more consistent 
with sound interpretation. Translations are also giv- 
en, as in the previous part of the work, of all the ob- 
scure and more difficult passages. 

The " Remarks on the Style of Tacitus," appended 
to the English edition, and reprinted in the present 
work, are translated from the Dissertation of Botti- 
3her, " De Vita, Scriptis, ac Stilo Taciti," Berlin, 
1834, and form a very excellent introduction to the 
study of the style and writings of the historian. 

The Geographical Index was confined in the pre- 
vious work to the " Grermania." It has now been 
greatly enlarged, and embraces all that is important, 
in a general point of view, in the " Agricola," and in 
that portion of the Annals contained in the present 
volume. 



Vlii PREFACE. 

It remains but to give a list of the different edi- 
tions of Tacitus, as well as of the other subsidiary- 
works from which aid has been obtained in preparing 
this work. 

1. Taciti Opera, ed. Brotier, Glasg., 1796, 4 vols., 4to. 

2. Taciti Opera, ex recensione Ernesti, ed. Oberhn, Oxon., 1813. 

4 vols., 8vo. 

3. Taciti Opera, ed. Walther, Hal. Sax., 1831, seqq., 4 vols., 8vo. 

4. Taciti Opera, ed. Imm. Bekker, Lips., 1831, 2 vols., 8vo. 

5. Taciti Opera, ed. Exeter, Bipont., 4 vols., 8vo. 

6. Taciti Opera, ed. Naudet, Paris, 1820, 5 vols., 8vo. (Lemaire's 

Collect.) 

7. Taciti Opera, ed. Valpy (In Us. Delph.), Lond., 8 vols., 8vo. 

8. Taciti Opera, ed. Ritter, Cantab., 4 vols., 8vo, 1848. 

9. Taciti Opera, ed. Doederlein, Halis, 2 vols., 8vo, 1841-7 

10. Taciti Opera, ed. Diibner, Paris, 1848, 12mo. 

11. Taciti Opera, ed. Ruperti, Hannov., 4 vols., 1834. 

12. Tacitus, erklaert von Nipperdey, Leipz , 1851 (with the notes in 

English, y Browne, Lond., 1852, 12rno). 



13. Phil. Cluveri Germanise Antiquae lib. iii., Lugd. Bat., ap. Elz., 

1616, fol. 

14. Taciti Germania, vollstandig erlautert von Dilthey, Braunschw., 

1823, 8vo. 

15. Taciti Germania, ed. Gerlach, Basil., 1835, 8vo. 

16. Taciti Germania, ed. Weishaupt, Solod., 1844, 8vo. 

17. La Germanie de Tacite, par Panckoucke, Paris, 1824, 8vo. 

18. Tacitus's Agrikola, ed. Walch, Berlin, 1828, 8vo. 

19. Taciti Agricola, ed. Dronke, Fuldae, 1834, 8vo. 
20 Taciti Agricola, ed. Becker, Hamburg, 1826, 8vo. 

21. Germany and Agricola of Tacitus, ed. Barker, Lond., 1824. 

22. Tacitus's Germany, Agricola, &c, ed. Smith, Lond., 1850. 

23. The Germania of Tacitus, by Latham, Lond., 1851, 8vo. 

24. Taciti de Vita et moribus Agricolae, ed. Wex, Brunsv., 1852, 8vo. 



25. Des C. C. Tacitus sammtliche Werke iibersetzt von Botticher, 

Berlin, 1834, 2 vols., 8vo. 

26. Lexicon Taciteum, scripsit Guil. Botticher, Berolini, 1830, 8vo. 

27. Tacite, traduit par Dureau de Lamalle, ed. Noel, Paris, 1828, 

6 vols., 8vo. 



PREFACE. IX 

26. La Vie d'Agricola, et des Mceurs des Germains, par M. l'Abbe 

de la Bleterie, Paris, 1788, 12mo. 
29. Germany and Agricola of Tacitus, by John Aikin, M.D., 4th ed., 

Oxford, 1823, 12mo. 



30. Mannert, Geschichte der alten Deutschen, &c , Stuttg., 1829, 

8vo. 

31. Adelung aelteste Geschichte der Deutschen, Leipz., 1806, 8vo. 

32. Menzel, Geschichte der Deutschen, Stuttg., 1837, 4to. 

33. Luden, Geschichte der Deutschen, Gotha, 1825, 2 vols., 8vo. 

34. Mannert, Geographie der Griechen und Romer (vol. ii. and iii.). 

35. Schirlitz, Handbuch der alten Geographie, Halle, 1837, 8vo. 

36. Kruse, Archiv. fur alte Geographie, &c, Breslau, 1821, seqq., 

12mo. 

37. Kruse, Deutsche Altherthumer, Halle, 1824, seqq., 12mo. 

38. Klemm, Germanische Alterthumskunde, Dresden, 1836, 8vo. 

39. Reichard, Sammlung kleiner Schriften, &c, Giins, 1836, 8vo. 

40. Bohmens heidnische Opferplatze, Graber, &c., Prag., 1836, 8vo. 

41. Barth, iiber die Druiden der Kelten, Erlangen, 1826, 8vo. 

42. Graff, Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz, &c, Berlin, 1834-8, 

4 vols., 4to. 

43. Du Cange, Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis, ed. Hen- 

schel, Paris, 1S40, seqq., 4to. 

44. Smith's Classical Dictionary, Lond., 2d ed , 1853, 8vo. 

C. A. 

Col. College, Sept. 1st 1853. 



LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS.* 



"Caius Cornelius Tacitus was probably born in the reign of 
Neio, but neither the place of his birth, nor the exact date, is known, 
nor is any thing ascertained of his parentage. There is no reason for 
supposing that he belonged to the illustrious patrician gens of the 
Oornelii, nor any evidence of his having been born at Interamna, in 
Umbria (the modern Terni), as is sometimes stated. The few facts 
of his life are chiefly collected from his own works, and from the 
letters of his friend, the younger Pliny. Tacitus was about the same 
age as Pliny, but the elder of the two. Pliny was born about A.D. 
61, in the reign of Nero, which commenced A.D. 54. A passage of 
the elder Pliny (H. N., vii., 16) speaks of a son of Cornelius Tacitus, 
the procurator of the emperor in Belgic Gaul. Lipsius concludes that 
this Cornelius Tacitus was the historian ; but as Pliny died in A.D. 
79, it seems hardly probable that the passage can apply to him. It 
has been conjectured that the procurator was the father of the historian. 

" Tacitus states that he owed his first promotion to Vespasian, and 
that he was indebted for other favors to his successors, Titus and 
Domitian (Hist., i., 1). In the year A.D. 77, C. Julius Agricola, then 
consul, betrothed to him his daughter ; and the marriage took place 
after Agricola's consulship. Tacitus does not state what places he 
filled under Vespasian and Titus, but in the reign of Domitian he in- 
forms us that he assisted as one of the Quindecimviri, at the celebra- 
tion of the Ludi Sseculares, which event took place in the fourteenth 
consulship of Domitian (A.D. 88). At that time he was also praetor 
(Ann., xi., 11). He was not at Rome when his father-in-law, Agricola, 
died there (A.D. 93), in the reign of Domitian ; but it is too much to 
affirm, as some have done, that he was an exile during the time of 
this emperor. It has already been shown that he was at Rome in 
A.D. 88. A passage in his Life of Agricola (c. 45) rather leads to 
the inference that he was at Rome during many of the atrocities 
which Domitian perpetrated after the death of Agricola, though he 
had been absent from Rome for four years prior to Agricola's death. 
On the decease of T. Virginius Rufus, in the reign of Nerva (A.D. 97), 

■ Penry Cyclopaedia, vol. xxiii., p. 504, seqq. 



Xll LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. 

he was appointed Consul SufFectus, and Pliny enumerates it as the 
crowning event to the good fortune of Virginius, that his panegyric 
was pronounced by the Consul Cornelius Tacitus, the most eloquent 
of speakers. 

" Tacitus is recorded by his friend Pliny as one of the most eloquent 
orators of his age. He had already attained to some distinction aa 
an advocate when Pliny was commencing his career. In the reign 
of Nerva, Pliny and Tacitus were appointed by the senate (A.D. 99) 
to conduct the prosecution of Marius Priscus, who had been proconsul 
of Africa, and was charged with various flagrant crimes. On this 
occasion Tacitus replied to Salvius Liberalis, who had spoken in de- 
fence of Priscus. His reply, says Pliny, was most eloquent, and 
marked by that dignity which characterized his style of speaking 
(Phn., Ep.,ai., 11.) 

" The contemporaries of Tacitus were Quintilian, the two Plinies. 
Julius Florus, Maternus, M. Aper, and Vipsanius Messala. He was 
on terms of the greatest intimacy with the younger Pliny, in whose 
extant collection of letters there are eleven epistles from Pliny to 
Tacitus. In one of these letters (vi., 16) Pliny describes the circum 
stance of the death of his uncle, Pliny the elder, and the letter was 
purposely written to supply Tacitus with facts for his historical works 
It is not known when Tacitus died, nor whether he left any children 
The Emperor Tacitus claimed the honor of being descended from him, 
but we have no means of judging of the accuracy of the emperor's 
pedigree ; and Sidonius Apollinaris (Ep., lib. iv,, ad Polemium) men- 
tions the historian Tacitus among the ancestors of Polemius, a prefect 
of Gaul in the fifth century of our era. 

" The extant works of Tacitus are the ' Life of Agricola,' ' the 
Treatise on the Germans/ ' Histories/ 'Annals,' and the ' Dialogue on 
Orators ; or, the Causes of the Decline of Eloquence.' None of his 
Oratioos are preserved. 

" The ' Life of Agricola' is one of the earliest works of Tacitus, and 
must have been written after the death of Domitian (A.D. 96). The 
Proremium, or Introduction to it, was written in the reign of Trajan, 
and the whole work probably belongs to the first or second year of 
that emperor's reign. As a specimen of biography, it is much and 
justly admired. Like all the extant works of Tacitus, it is unencum- 
bered with minute irrelevant matter. The life and portrait of Agi icola 
are sketched in a bold and vigorous style, corresponding to the dig- 
nity of the subject. The biographer was the friend and son-in-law of 
Agricola, whom he loved and revered, but he impresses his reader 
with a profound conviction of the moral greatness of Agricola, his 
courage, and his prudence, without ever becoming his panegyrist 



LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. Xlll 

The ' Life of Agricola' was not contained in the earliest editions of 
Tacitus. 

" The l Germany' of Tacitus has been the subject of some discussion 
as to its historical value. The author does not inform us whence he 
drew his materials for the description of the usages of these barbari- 
ans, many of whom could only be known by hearsay even to the 
Roman traders and adventurers on the frontiers of the empire. The 
work contains numerous minute and precise details, for which it must 
be assumed that the writer had at least the evidence of persons con- 
versant with the German tribes on the frontiers ; and there is nothing 
in the description of Tacitus which is substantially at variance with 
what we know of the early Germans from other sources. The sound- 
est conclusion is, that the picture of the Germans is in the main cor- 
rect; otherwise we must assume it to be either a mere fiction, or a 
rnetorical essay founded on a few generally known facts ; but neither 
of these assumptions will satisfy a careful reader. 

" The ' Histories/ which were written before the ' Annals,' and 
after the death of Nerva, comprehended the period from the accession 
of Galba to the death of Domitian ; to which it was the author's in- 
tention to add the reigns of Nerva and Trajan (Hist., i., 1). There 
are only extant the first four books and a part of the fifth, and these 
comprehend little more than the events of one year, from which we 
may conclude that the whole work must have consisted of many 
books. Unfortunately, the fifth book contains only the commence- 
ment of the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. 

"'The i Annals' comprehended the history of Rome from the death 
of Augustus to the death of Nero, a period of fifty-two years, which 
ended with the extinction of the Julian house in Nero. A part of the 
fifth book of the ' Annals' is lost; the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, 
the beginning of the eleventh, and the end of the sixteenth and last 
book, are also lost. These last portions comprehended the whole reign 
of Caligula, the first years of Claudius, and the last two years of Nero's 
'eign. It is said that the preservation of the historical works oi 
Tacitus is due to the Emperor Tacitus (Vopisc, Tacit., 10), who 
caused them to be transcribed ten times a year, and copies to be 
placed in the libraries. But the works of Tacitus, and more particu- 
larly the ' Annals,' were neglected during the decline of the empire, 
and few copies of them were preserved. The first five books of the 
1 Annals' were not found till the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
when they were discovered in the Abbey of Corvey, in Westphalia, 
and published afrRome, in 1515, by Philip Bervaldus. 

" The Dialogue on the Decline of Eloquence may have been writ. 
ten in the reign of Vespasian : it is at least probable that it is an early 



XIV LIFE AND WRITINGS OP TACITUS 

work of Tacitus. It has been sometimes doubted if it is by Tacitus, 
but the style is in favor of the common opinion, though it presents in 
many respects a marked contrast to the ' Annals,' the work of his 
mature years. Messala, one of the speakers, attributes the decline 
of oratory to the neglect of the arduous method of study adopted b j 
the older orators, who learned their art by attaching themselves to 
some eminent speaker, and by experience in the actual business of 
life : in Messala's time, the school of the rhetoricians was the only 
place of discipline for the young. But Maternus, another speaker, 
indicates more truly the causes of the decline of eloquence, by a ref 
erence to the political condition of the Romans, and the suppression 
of their energies under the empire, a3 compared with the turbulent 
activity of the Republican period. 

" The ' Annals' of Tacitus are the work of his riper age. on which 
his historical reputation mainly rests. Though entitled Annals, and 
in general sufficiently true to the chronological order of events, the 
title of Annals conveys no exact notion of the character of this work. 
The writer moulded the matter of his history, and adapted it to hia 
purpose, which was not a complete enumeration of the domestic and 
foreign events of the period, but a selection of such as portrayed m 
the liveliest colors the character of the Romans. The central figure 
in this picture is the imperial power, and the person who wielded it, 
the Princeps, and every event is viewed in relation to him. The no- 
tion of the Romans of the age of Tacitus is inseparably associated 
with the notion of the government of one man. The power that had 
been founded and consolidated by Augustus had been transmitted 
through many princes, few of whom had distinguished themselves 
by ability, and some had sullied the purple with the most abominable 
crimes. Yet the imperial power was never shaken after it was once 
firmly established, and the restoration of the old Republic was never 
seriously contemplated by any sober thinker. The necessity of the 
imperial power was felt, and the historian, while he describes the 
vices and follies of those who had held it, and often casts a glance 
of regret toward the Republican period, never betrays a suspicion 
that this power could be replaced by any other, in the abject and 
fallen state of the Roman people. It is this conviction which gives 
to the historical writings of Tacitus that dramatic character which 
pervades the w T hole, and is seen in the selection of events, and the 
mode in which they are presented to the reader. It is consistent 
with this that the bare facts, as they may be extracted from his nar- 
rative, are true, and that the coloring with which he has heightened 
them may often be false. This coloring was his mode of viewing 
the progress of events, and the development of the imperial power 



LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. XT 

the effect, however, is, that the reader often overlooks the bare his- 
torical facts, and carries away only the general impression which the 
historian's animated drama presents. 

" Tacitus had formed a full, and, it may be, a correct conception 
of the condition of the empire in his own time, and the problem 
which he proposed to himself was, not only to narrate the course of 
events from the close of the reign of Augustus, but to develop their 
causes. (Hist., i., 4.) For his * Annals/ at least, he could claim, as 
he does, the merit of strict impartiality : he lived after the events 
that he describes, and, consequently, had no wrongs to complain of, no 
passions or prejudices to mislead him. (Ann., i., 1.) He observes, 
also, in the commencement of his ' Histories,' that neither Galba, 
Otho, nor Vitellius had either conferred on him any favor or done 
him any injury. To Vespasian, Titus, and Dominan he acknowledges 
his obligations. The reign of Domitian is, unfortunately, lost; but 
we may collect from the expressions in the ' Life of Agricola' (c. 43, 
45, &c.) that the favors which Tacitus had received did not save this 
contemptible tyrant from the historian's just indignation. 

" The tone which characterizes the historical works of Tacitus is 
an elevation of thought which had its foundation in the moral dignity 
of the writer, and the consciousness of having proposed to himself a 
noble object. He was a profound observer of character : it was his 
study to watch the slightest indications in human conduct, and by 
correctly interpreting these outward signs, to penetrate into the hid- 
den recesses of the heart. His power of reaching those thoughts 
which are often almost unconsciously the springs of a man's actions, 
has, perhaps, never been equalled by any historical writer. Tacitus 
had lived through a time when the value of the lessons of philosophy 
had to be tested by their practical application, and his historical stud- 
ies carried him through a period in which the mass were sunk in 
sensuality, and the really good and great had no consolation but in 
the consciousness of their own thoughts. Though he appears to be- 
long to no sect of philosophers, his practical morality was of the Stoic 
school, the only school which, in those degenerate times, could sus- 
tain the sinking spirits of the Romans, and which, even under favor- 
able circumstances, guided the conduct of the wise Cornelius, the 
Qoblest man that ever possessed sovereign power. The religious 
opinions of Tacitus partook of the character of his age : he had no 
Btrong convictions, no settled belief of a moral government of the 
world: his love of virtue and his abhorrence of vice were purely 
moral; they had no reference to a future existence. (Ann., iii., 18; 
vi., 22.) In one of his earliest productions he hopes, rather than ex- 
pects, that the souls of the departed may still live, and be conscious 



XVI LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. 

of what is passing on earth. (Agric. f 46.) But in his latest writings 
there are no traces that his hopes or his wishes had ever ripened 
into a belief. 

14 The style of Tacitus, especially in his ' Annals,' is the apt expres- 
sion of his thought: concise, vigorous, and dramatic. He has, per- 
haps, attained as great a degree of condensation as is compatible with 
perspicuity; sometimes his meaning is obscured by his labor to be 
brief. His historical works are especially works of art, constructed on 
a fixed principle, and elaborated in obedience to it. He loves to dis- 
play his rhetorical skill, but he subdues it to his dramatic purpose. 
It is a fault that his art is too apparent, that his thoughts are some- 
times imperfectly or obscurely expressed, that he affects an air of 
mystery, that his reflections on events are often an inseparable part 
of them, and, consequently, the impressions which it is his object to 
produce can only be rectified by the vigorous scrutiny of a matured 
mind. Yet those who have made Tacitus a study generally end in 
admiring him, even for some of those qualities which at first repelled : 
almost every word has its place and its meaning, and the contrast 
between the brevity of the expression and the fullness of the thought, 
as it marks the highest power of a writer, so it furnishes fit matter 
for reflection to those who have attained a like intellectual maturity. 

" Tacitus must have had abundant sources of information, though 
he indicates them only occasionally. He mentions several of those 
historians who lived near his own time, as Vipsanius Messala and 
Fabius Rusticus ; he also speaks of the memoirs of Agrippina and oth- 
ers. The Orationes Principum, the Fasti, the Acts of the Senate, 
and the various legislative measures, were also sources of which he 
availed himself. It has been already intimated that the minute de- 
tail of events was often foreign to the purpose of Tacitus, and, accord- 
ingly, he is sometimes satisfied with giving the general effect or 
meaning of a thing, without aiming at perfect accuracy. Thus we 
can not always collect with certainty from Tacitus the provisions of 
the Senatus Consulta of which he speaks; and for the purpose of any 
nistorical investigation of Roman legislation, his statements mast 
sometimes be enlarged or corrected by reference to other sourc^es, 
and particularly to the ' Digest.' " 



STEMMA 



THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. 



As the relations of the members of the Augustan family are ex- 
ceedingly intricate, and a knowledge of them is essential for under 
standing many parts of Tacitus, a stemma of the family is subjoin- 
ed, drawn up by Lipsius. 

C. Octavius, the father of Augustus, was married twice. By his 
first wife, Ancharia, he had Octavia the elder ; by his second wife, 
Atia (the daughter of Atius Balbus and Julia, the sister of Julius 
Caesar), he had Octavia the younger, and C. Octavius, afterward 
Augustus. It is doubtful from w T hich of the daughters the follow 
ing progeny springs. 



XV111 STEMMA OF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. 



I. Octavia was married twxe, and had — 



«. By C. Mar- | 
cellus, 



' 1. M. Marcellus, in. (1) Pompeia, dr. of Sextus Pompeius, and (2; 

Julia, dr. of Augustus — had no progeny. Died in his 17th 

year, B.C. 23. 
2. Marcella, the elder, m. twice, and had — 

a. By M. Vipsanius C Children of names unknown (Suet., Aug 
Agrippa, \ 63). 

b. By lulus Anto- f L. Antonius Africa-] « Antonius Africa* 

Tiins AfrimmnH. f mum ( Artmnl iv ! ^ ATllOniUS AjrXCO* 

nus ? (Annal., xiv., 
46.) 



t>. By M. An- 
tonius the 
Triumvir, 



nius Africanus, 
son of the Tri- 
umvir. 



nus (Annal.. iv. e I 
44), father or un- [ 
cle of J 



(See 



and 



1 3. Marcella, the younger. 

' 1. Antonia* the elder. { 1. Domitia, m. Crispus Passienus ? 

By L. Domitius 2. Domitia Lepida. 

Ahenobarbus. fi M Valerius 1 rc7e ™ , Messallina, 

Barbatus Mes- 1 ^2^ ' 
salla emperor. 

saila - J below.) 

&. By Ap, Junius ) w ___ « 
Silanus? j None! 

3. Oi. te^ by \ Ne ^°- Qctavia 
Agrippma. ( Poppaaa. 

2. Antonia the young- ? 1. Germanicus, adopted by Tiberius 
er - B y Agrippina, dr. ? <, h«iow 

By Drusus, brother of Julia. j bee be * ow * 

of Tiberius. 2. Livia, or Livilla. 

m. C. Caesar, and afterward Drusus, son 
of Tiberius, is betrothed to Sejanus 
(Annal, iv., 40). 

'1. Drusus. 

Betrothed to dr. 
of Sejanus (An- 
nal, iii., 29. Su- 
et., Claud., 27). 
2. Claudia. 
Antonia. 

m. Pompeius M., 
killed by Claudius, 
and Faustus Sulla, 

1. Octavia, 
Betrothed to L. 

Silvanus, mar. 
Nero, the em- 
peror. 

2. Claudius Britan* 
nicus. 



3. Claudius. 
a. By Plautia Ur- 
gulanilla. 



b. By JElia Pe- 
tana. 



c. By Valeria Mes- 
sallina. 



* Tacitus makes Antonia the younger wife of Domitius (Annal., i\\ 41 ; xii., 64). 



STExMMA OF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. 



II. Augustus had no children by his other wives ; by Scribonia, 
daughter of L. Scribonius Libo, he had one daughter, Julia. Ju- 
lia was married three times. 



fl. By M. Marcellus, son of C. Marcellus and Octavia — had no progeny. 

( 1. Caius Casar, adopted by Augustus, m. Livia, sister of German- 
icus, died A.D. 4. 
2. Lucius Casar, adopted by Augustus, betrothed to iEmilia Le- 
pida, died A.D. ~ 



b. By M. Vipsa- 
nius Agrippa. 



3. Julia. 

By L. iEmilius 
Paulus, son of 
the Censor. 



'1. M. Mmilius Lepidus, m. Drusilla, dr. 
Germanicus. 
L JEmilia Lepida. 

Betrothed to Claudius. 



o< 



b. By Ap. Junius 
Silanus. 



fl. L. Silanus. 

Betrothed to Octavia, 
dr. of Claudius. 
<{ 2. M. Silanus. 

Proconsul of Asia. 
3. Junia Calvin a. 
m. son of Vitellius. 
c. By Drusus, son Kr „ 
I of Germanicus? j^ one - 

' 1. Nero, m. Julia, dr. of Drusus, son of Tibe- 
rius (Anna!., vi., 27). 

2. Drusus, m. ^Emilia Lepida (Annal., vL, 
40). 

3. Caius C^igula. 
) 4. Agrippina, 

By Cn. Domitius, \ Nero. 

I 5. Drusilla, m. L. Cassius and M. ^Emiliua 

Lepidus. 
I 6. Livia, or Livill ra. M. Viniciu3 and Quinc- 
[ tilius Varus ? 
5. Agrippa Postumus, adopted by Au'' *stus, put to death by Ti- 
berius, A.D. 14. 
t. By Tiberias, had none. 



4. Agrippina. 
By Germanicus. ' 



xx STEMMA OF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. 



III. Augustus, after divorcing his forme~ wife, Scribonia, married 
Livia Drusilla, by whom he had no children. Livia, however, 
had been previously married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, by whom 
she had two sons, Tiberius, afterward emperor, and Drusus, who 
was born three months after her marriage with Augustus. 



1. Tiberius Nero, adopted by Augustus. 
a. By Vipsania Agrip- ( 
pina, gr. dr. of Atti- I Drusus, 11. Ti. Gemellus, killed by Caligula 



b. By Julia, dr. of ? v*»«« 

Augustus. 5 None * 

&. Drusus. 

By Antonia the ? ~. mi ^ M ^ 

ycmager. i 8 ** ^^ 



ofGermani- [2. — Gemellus (An7i.,ii.,8'i',iy., 15) 
[ cus. J 3, Julia. 

a. By Nero, ~i 
son of Ger- V None, 
manicus. S 
&. By Rubel-i Rubellrt* 
lius Blan- ( PlavXia 
dus (Ann., \ (AnjitiL, s*i, 
vi., 27). J m. 



REMARKS 



STYLE OF TACITUS. 



REMARK'S 



STYLE OF TACITUS. 



TRANSLATEL* FROM THE LATIN OF WILHELM BOETTICHER, 
Tacitus generally preserved in his language the usage of former 
writers, and chiefly of the historians; and only departed from it in 
such a degree as to improve and increase certain peculiarities which 
the ancient winters sometimes display in single instances, and in 
which they, too, have mostly followed the language of the poets. It 
is true, he adopted the usage of his age, and indulged his own pecul 
iar genius in new constructions, and in the formation of compound 
words ; but he never, in these instances, transgressed the laws of his 
native tongue : like a great legislator, who best provides for the com- 
mon welfare by retaining, on the one hand, the customs of antiquity, 
while he also employs his own genius in inventing laws which are 
better and more suited to the demands of his age. 

There are, indeed, many passages in his writings which are render- 
ed obscure by a conciseness almost intricate and abrupt ; many which, 
departing from the common mode of speech, call for much attention 
in the reader. But just as the milk like exuberance of Livy and the 
wonderful clearness of Cicero delight the minds of their readers, and 
gratify them with a pleasure which is presented, as it were, spon- 
taneously, and obtained by no great labor ; so the brevity of Tacitus, 
obscure, indeed, but never unpleasing, never impenetrable to the 
edge of genius — while it calls forth all the reader's strength, and 
never suffers his mind to be inactive, but always engages him more 
and more in new efforts to imbibe deeply the loftiest and most 
beautiful sentiments — fills and pervades with a joy assuredly not in- 
ferior, nay, imperishable, the minds of those who come to the perusal 
of the works of Tacitus, not as to thickets bristling with thorns, but 
as to a consecrated grove, glimmering with a doubtful but holy light 
Now the laws which Tacitus has followed in the composition Gf his 
writings, and the sources from which chiefly all those thing3 proceed 
which constitute the peculiarity of his 6tyle, may be most convenient- 
ly referred to variety, which we may also call copiousness; to brevity, 
on which the force of language depends ; and to the poetical complexion 
* By Mr. Philip Smith, B.A., University College, London. 



XXIV ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

of his narrative* This three-fold division, therefore, we shall carr^ 
out in such a manner as, by observing some certain order, to enumer- 
ate all the peculiarities of" the style of Tacitus, either as examples of 
the variety, or of the brevity, or of the poetical complexion, by which 
his style is marked ; but with this restriction, that many peculiarities 
can not be described in words and brought under rules ; and we think 
it sufficient to have collected here examples of each kind, and thus 
to have pointed out to the students of Tacitus the road by which they 
may arrive at a fuller knowledge of that writer. 



ON THE VARIETY OF THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

Of all writers, Tacitus has taken most pains to vary both single 
words and the composition of sentences. In this quality he was pre- 
ceded chiefly by Livy and Sallust. And the care of Livy, in this re- 
spect, indicates copiousness and exuberance ; but that of Sallust an 
affectation of antiquity. The reason of this peculiarity Tacitus him- 
self plainly enough declares. For he says that " his labor was in a 
restricted space, and inglorious ;" that " the positions of nations, the 
vicissitudes of battles, the triumphant deaths of generals, interest and 
refresh the minds of readers; but he had to string together cruel 
mandates, perpetual accusations, treacherous friendships, the ruin of 
innocent men, and causes which had the same issue, things strikingly 
similar even to satiety. "\ 

It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that, in collecting the me- 
morials of past events, he should have taken pains to acquire that 
variety which presented itself spontaneously to the writers of the old 
republic, in order to avoid burdening and wearying the minds of his 
readers by expressing in the same words events perpetually recurring. 
As to the fact that for this very end he used certain ancient forms 
and words, and interspersed them in his narrative, we know that 
though he retained as much of all ancient things as was proper and 
becoming, yet he did not despise the more polished style of his own 
age.t 

* But it must be observed that, in many passages, all these qualities are united ; 
eo that in his very brevity there appear at the same time variety and a poetical 
complexion. 

t Annals, iv., 32, 33 : " Nobis in arto et inglorius labor." " Situs gentium, varietale* 
proeliorum, clari ducum exitus retinent ac redintegrant legentium animum : nos 
BfiBva jussa, continuas accusationes, fallaces amicitias- perniciem innocentium, el 
easdem exitu causas conjungimus, obvia rerum similitudine et sadetate." 

X See the Dialogus de Oratoribus, c. 20 : " Variet compositionem ; nee onuiec 
cltusulas uno et codem modo determinet." And c. 18 : " Non esse unum ek> 
qucntiaB vultum," &c 



ITS VARIETY. XXV 

The following are examples of his varietv : 

I. His modes of writing words are various. 

a. Inrumpere and irrumpere, adstitit and astitit, adlicere and allicere, 
zdpellere and appellere ; colloqui, colligere, and conloqui, conlectus ; 
offundere and obfundere ; accelerare, accolere, accursus, and aacelerare, 
adcolere, adcursus. 

h. Cotidie and quotidie; promiscus, promisee, and promiscuus, pro- 
miscue; abisse and abiisse, epistula and epistola; volgus, volnus, voltus, 
convolsus, revolsus, mavoltis, and vulgus, vulnus, &c. ; and also, in some 
places, scevom, pravom, alvom, captivom, donativom avonculo, for the 
common scevurn, pravum, &c. ; tegumen, tegimen, and legmen ; balnece 
{balnea) and balinece ; claudere and cludere; inclulus and inclitus; 
quotiens, totiens, viciens, septuagiens, and quoties, toties, &c. ; trans- 
mittere, transnatare, and tramittere, tranatare ; vinculum and vinclum ; 
Hercule and Hercle; libido, and once lubido ; altissumus, optumus, op- 
tumates, proxumus (these examples are found each only once in 
Tacitus), and altissimus, &c. ; monimentum and monumentum ; decu- 
mus and decimus, &c. ; urgere and urguere, intellegere and intelligere, 
oreretur and oriretur, poteretur and potiretur, detractare and detrectare. 

II. Words are variously inflected. 

a. Tigranen, Tigranem, Lirin, Turesim; the accusative plural 
ending in is of participles and adjectives chiefly, less frequently of 
substantives, is interchanged with the common form ; as, imminentis, 
omnis, tris, navis ; the genitive which ends in um with the common 
termination in orum; deum (very rarely deoruni), liberum, posterum 
(AnnaL, iii., 72), quindecimvirum (Annal. t vi., 12); parentum and 
parentium. By a poetical usage received from the writers of the 
Silver Age, we read in Annal., iv., 41, salutantum for salutantium., 
and several examples of the same kind occur repeatedly. Cai, Cnei, 
Ccsselli, Patulei, Rubelli, Pacari, but Tiberii, Pompeii, &c. ; di, dit 
dli, diis, and deis ; quibus, and not less frequently quis. The dative 
ending in u is very frequent in Tacitus, as well as the common term- 
ination ; as, luxu, nuru, metu, decursu, cruciatu. Caesar, who uses that 
form more frequently, generally gives nothing else but magistratu, 
equitaht, exercitu. 

b. Heteroclite and defective words : plebes, plebei (gen. and dat.) ; 
and plebs, plebis, plebi (so in Cicero, Livy, and other former writers) \ 
juventa, senecta, {senium), poetical words, and juvenilis, senectus (after 
Livy's example) ; but juvenilis in Tacitus always means youths, ju- 
venta no less constantly the age of youth ; nouns are both of the first 
and fifth declension in the nominative (as is usual), in the accusative, 

2 



XXVi ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

and in the ablative case3: materia and materies, mollitia and mollitiet, 
duritia and durities (so, also, in Cicero), with an obsolete genitive, 
AnnaL, iii., 34, multa duritie velerum in melius et latius mutata, un- 
less it is better to take duritie for the ablative, with ex understood. 
Oblivio and {Hist., iv., 9) oblivium (the plural oblivia occurs frequent- 
iy in the poets), obsidio and obsidium (so Varro, Piautus, Sallust), 
which in Tacitus, indeed, is the same as obses, AnnaL, xi., 10, Metier- 
daten — obsidio nobis datum. So he uses consortium for the common 
consortio (as Liv., iv., 5); alimonium, Annal., xi., 16, after Varro's 
example; but Piautus, Suetonius, Gellius, Apuleius, use alimonia, <e. 
Eventus and (what is not an uncommon word with Cicero) eventum, 
Annal., iv, 33, plures aliorum eventis docentur; prcetextu and (Hist., 
ii., 100; iii., 80; as in Seneca and Suetonius) pratexto ; Vologeses, 
genitive Vologesis and Vologesi, dative Vologeso, accusative Vologesen, 
ablative Vologese. Add to these decus and decor (as in the writers 
of the same age); sonos and (the poetical form) sonor ; honos and 
honor; satietas and (Sallust) satias; sexus and (Sallust, Livy) seats; 
munera and munia (and this frequently) ; muri and mania (compare 
Hist., iii., 30, near the end) ; gratia and grates ; exanimus, exanimis ; 
semermus, semermis; inermus, inermis ; claritudo, claritas ; jirmitndo y 
firmilas. 

c. Heterogeneous words: loci and loca, where they refer to a 
country, are used indifferently by Tacitus ; other writers, less fre- 
quently, use loci. In Annal., xv., 32, loci are the seats in a theatre; 
on the other hand, Livy and Vellius call them loca. Arguments, 
which are treated of in a debate or speech, and also passages or sen- 
tences of speeches or books, are called by all writers, and Tacitus 
likewise, loci. Some names of cities ending in a are both feminine 
and neuter ; Artaxata, Hierosolyma, and others. 

III. The following examples will prove how great is the variety 
and copiousness of Tacitus in the actual use of words. 

a. The word auris is used by no writer so often and so variously ; 
for he gives aures prcebere, adire, perstringere, advertere, imbuere, vi- 
tare, polluere, obstruere, verberare, offendere; ad aures conferre, perve- 
nire ; auribus obtemperare, auribus non satis competere, aures respuunt. 
agnoscunt aliquid ; diversitas, fastidium aurium ; oratio auribus judi- 
cum accommodata ; diver sissimarum aurium copia ; cognitce populi an- 
res; aures adrectiores, trepidce, lenlce, promtce, pronce, superbce, aqua, 
aperta, ita formatce. Two reasons may be given why Tacitus so often 
used this word : first, because he was an orator, on which account 
most examples of it are furnished by his Dialogue concerning Ora- 
tors ; and, therefore. Cicero, also, and Quintilian often use this word ! 



ITS VARIETY. XXVU 

secondly, because in describing times which> to use his own words, 
had destroyed by prosecutions the intercourse of speaking and hear- 
ing, and recalled the recollection of the well-known ear* of the ty- 
rant Dionysius, he was- able, by the use of this mode of speech, to ex- 
press with the greatest propriety and effect many things which be- 
longed to the wicked arts of tyranny and slavery. 

b. There is generally a variety of the same kind in describing 
hidden and secret things. Thus to palam are opposed secreto, intus, 
domi, per occultum, per occulta, in occulto, privatim, furtim, secretis 
criminationibus, occultis nuntiis, inter secreta convivii, voto; Annal., 
xvi., 7, mortem Poppcece ut pala n tristem, ita recordantibus Icetam: 
Hist., i., 10, palam lau dares ; secreta male audiebant; propalam — se- 
cretis nuntiis, secretis promissis. 

c. Since Tacitus had to mention frequent deaths, he has in these, 
also, used very great variety : relinquendce vitce certus ; finis sppnie 
sumtus, qucesita mors; suo ictu mortem invenire, fincm vitce sibi ponere, 
sumere exitium, voluntario exitu cadere, sua manu cadere, mortem sponte 
sumere, se vita privare, se ipsum interficere (and interfectus also is used 
in a rather unusual way of voluntary death in Annal., i., 2, interfecto 
Antonio : compare Hist., i., 53, occiso Nerone), voluntate exstingui, vim 
vitce sum adferre, vitam abstinentia finire, egestate cibi perimi, venenum 
haurire, gladio incumbere, senili manu ferrum tentare ; venas, brachia ex- 
solver e, resolvere, abrumpere, interscindere, abscindere, interrumpere, in- 
cider e, aperire rursum; levem ictum venis inferre; defungi, exstingui, 
obire, concedere, oppetere, finire, fato fungi, fato obire, fato concedere, 
morte fato propera auferri, mortem obire, mortalitatem explere, finem 
vitce implere, supremum diem explere, concedere vita, cedere vita, vitam 
finire; mors {mortes), obitus, excessus, finis ; Dial., 18, fat alts et mens 
dies. 

d. Propinqua vespera, flexo in vesperam die, vesperascente die, in- 
umbrante vespera, prcecipiti in occasum. die, extremo die, sero diet, ob- 
scuro diei. 

e. Those phrases, also, are changed which it is the usual custom 
not to alter; as, aqua et igni interdicere {Annal., iii., 38 ; iv., 21), aqua 
et igni arceri {Annal., iii., 50), aqua atque igni prohiberi {Annal., xvi., 
12). 

f. Particles are varied more frequently than in other writers : hand 
and non, haudquaquam, nequaquam; dein, delude; exin, exinde ; proin, 
proinde;- modo — modo and interim — quandvque, modo — nunc, modo — 
ecce nunc; erga, and, with the same signification, contra, adversus, in; 
penes and ad, in. apud ; juxta and ad, apud. They serve for a transi 

* A combination of passages, by which Dionysius is said to have been able to 
overhear the words of his captives as he sat in his palace. 



XXV111 ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

tion : his atque (ac, et) talibus, his et pluribus, ceterum, dehinc, hinc^ ad 
hoc, ad hcec (besides) ac, et, inter quce, interea, per idem tempus, sub idem 
tempus, interim, simul, proinde, exinde, deinde, igitur (seldom itaqut) 
ergo, at, at Hercule (Hercle). 

IV. Tacitus is also remarkable for great copiousness and variety of 
words ; because, besides the words received in common use, lie like 
wise frequently uses such as are found only in single passages in the 
writers of the former age ; because, too, he adopted those words 
ivith which the poets of every age, and the writers of his own time, 
enriched the Latin tongue; and, lastly, because he himself discov- 
ered and composed many new words; as, centurionatus, exstimulator, 
instigatrix, inturbidus, quinquiplicare, prceposse, provivere, pervigere, 
super stagnare, supenurgere. And he followed the same plan in the 
meanings of words, not only combining the different senses which 
chey had at different times, but also referring them, according to his 
own taste, to other things which bore some degree of affinity to the 
things which other writers had used those w T ords to express. Of this 
J will give the following examples : 

j.. As in Cicero we read adducere habenas, in Seneca adducere vul- 
ium ad tristitiam, in Quintilian adducta frons; so in Tacitus, with a 
flight change in the meaning of the word, Annal., xii., 7, adductum 
(i. e., severum, rigidum) et quasi virile servitium; xiv., 4, familiaritate 
juvenili — et rursus adductus; and Tacitus alone appears thus to have 
used the adverb, adductius (regnari, imperitare), in Germ., 34, and 
Hist., iii., 7. 

b. Expedire, 1. As in ite common use, is the same as prccparare, 
■parare, as arma, alimenta, iter, concilium; Annal.* xiv., 55, qui me non 
tantum prcevisa, sed subita expedire docuisti, concerning facility of 
speech. 2. Then in the same sense as exponere: examples of this 
meaning are furnished by Terence, Virgil, and other poets; Annal., 
iv., 1, nunc originem, mores — expediam 9 and so frequently. 3. Tacitus 
alone appears to have used it absolutely for expeditionem suscipere ; 
Hist., i., 10, nimicc voluptales cum vacaret ; quotiens expedierat mag- 
na virtutes; chap, lxxxviii., multos — secum expedire jubet; but exactly 
in the same way, ducere is used for ducere exercitum, not only by Tac- 
itus, but much oftener by Livy. 

c. Externus, besides its common use, in which it simply applies to 
foreign nations; as, Annal., xi., 16, ire externum ad imperium, is also in 
Tacitus synonymous with hostilis; Hist., iv., 32, ut absisterct bello, 
neve externa armis falsis velar et; iii., 5, ne inter discordias (Romnno- 
rum) externa molirentur. In the same manner diversus is used by 
Tacitus of things relating to enemies and opposing parties; as, AnnaL, 



ITS VARIETY. XXI? 

xiv., 30, stab at 'pro littore diversa (the hostile) acies , Hist., iii., 5, ne 
majore ex diverso mercede (received from their adversaries) jus fasque 
exuerent; and diver sus is generally synonymous with alienus, abhor- 
reus ab aliqua re : AnnaL, ii., 2, diversus a majorum institutis; vi., 33, 
diversa induere (espouse different sides ; but thus Livy, also, speaks of 
diversi auctores. 

V. In the grammatical construction of words the very great 
variety of the style of Tacitus is discovered. 

a. The singular and plural numbers are interchanged : miles, eques 
(used, also, of those who are of equestrian rank), veteranus, legiona- 
rius, and miliies, equites, &c, and more often, indeed, than in former 
writers: AnnaL, vi., 35, cum Parihus — distraheret turmas, Sarmatce — 
contis gladiisque ruerent ; Hist., iii., 59, Samnis Pelignusqueet Marsi 
The plural, used for the sake of majesty, is often joined with the sin- 
gular: AnnaL, iv., 11, ut peter em ab Us, quorum in manus cur a nostra 
venerit, &c, Agr., 43, nobis nihil comperti adjirmare ausim. 

b. Different cases are joined together : AnnaL, xii., 29, legionem — 
•pro ripa componeret, subsidio victis et terrorem adversus victor es; Hist., 
i., 53, corpore ingens, animi immodicus ; AnnaL, xv., 59, nornen mulieris 
Arria Galla, priori marito Domitius Silus : and the same cases with 
different significations: Germ., 35, occidere sblent, non disciplina et 
severitate, sed impetu et ira; Hist., ii., 22, molar es ingenti ponder e ac fra- 
gore provolvunt. 

c. The dative, accusative, genitive, and prepositions are used in 
the same kind of construction : promptus rei, in rem, ad rem; inrum- 
pere terram, in terram, ad terram ; AnnaL, xiv., 38, cvjus adversa pravi- 
tati ipsius, prosper a ad fortunam rei publicce referebat, unless you prefer 
taking this as a zeugma; xii., 55, vim cultoribus et oppidanis ac pie- 
rumque in mercatores — audebant; AnnaL, iv., 1, sui obtegens, in alios 
criminator ; xiii., 21, ultionem in delator es et prcemia amicis obtinuit 
(See below, on the Brevity of the Style of Tacitus, iii., 1.) 

d. There is the greatest variety in the mode of comparison. 1. 
The usual construction quo — tanto, quanto — tanto, scite magis quam 
probe, avidius quam ccmsultius. 2. The positive, or other words 
which have its force, is used for the comparative in almost the sam* 
manner as we read in Agr., 4, vehementius quam caute : AnnaL, i., 68, 
quanto inopina, tanto majora offunduntur ; c. 74, quantoque incautius 
efferverat, pcenitentia patiens tulit (compare Livy, i., 25, Romani — 
Horatium accipiunt eo majore cum gaudio, quo prope metum res 
fuerat); iv., 67, quanto intentus olim — tanto resolutus. Compare 
Livy, xxi., 48, quantum elatus — tantum anxius. 3. Tanto is trans- 
Dosed: AnnaL, i., 81, speciosa verbis — quantoque majore libertatii 



fcXX ON T7IE .STYLE OF TACITUS. 

imagine tcgebantur, tanto eruptura ad infensius servitium. 4. Tanto 
or eo is omitted: Annal., ii., 5, quanto acriora — studia militum et 
aversa (see No. 2) patrui voluntas, celerandce victoria intentior; Hist,, 
ii., 58, quanto quis clarior, minus fidus. Compare Livy, xxv., 38, quo 
audacius erat (consilium) magis placebat. 5. Piura is omitted : Annal., 
iii., 5, tanto plura decora mox tribui par fuisse, quanto prima fors ne- 
gavisset. 6. Eodem actu is put for tanto; Hist., i., 12, qui in dies 
quanto potentior, eodem actu invisior erat. 7. Quam is used alone, 
meaning more than, magis or potius being omitted: Hist., iii., 60, 
pr cedes quam periculorum socius ; Annal., iv., 61, Claris majoribus 
quam vetustis. Compare Livy, vii., 8, multiplex quam pro numero 
dam?ium est. 8. Also the more uncommon construction, Annal., iii., 
8, quern kaud fratris inter itu trucem, quam—a>quiorem sibi sperabat, 
put for non tarn — quam, or tantum abest ut — ut. 

e. Adjectives and genitive cases are mixed together: Annal., ii., 3, 
Armenia — inter Parihorum et Romanas opes infida : xii., 14, ex quia 
Izates Adiabeno, mox Acbarus Arabum cum exercitu abscedunt. 

f. Verbs are variously and, indeed, rather uncommonly construct- 
ed: fungi officiis and ojjicia, potiri flagitii, konoribus, regiam (by 
archaism), adipisci aliquid and rerum, dominationis (so in Tacitus 
alone) ; prcesidere alicui rei and (what there seems to be no example 
of in other writers) Medos, Pannoniam : jubere alicui tributum ; Ger~ 
manos — non juberi, non regi ; Annal., xi., 32, jus sit ut Britannictis et 
Octavia — pergerent / xiii., 15, Britannico jussit exsurgeret ; chap. 40, 
quibus jusserat ut — resisterent. Compare Terence, Andria, ii., 5, 1, me 
*ussit — observarem; Cicero also, Livy, and others sometimes join this 
verb with the dative. So with many verbs is joined the infinitive 
and ut, ne, quod; also, the preposition ad and the particle ut are in- 
terchanged; e. g., Annal., ii., 62, kaud leve decus Drums qu&sivit il- 
liciens Germanos ad discordias, utque fracto jam Maroboduo usque in 
exitium insisteretur. The historical present and perfect are joined to- 
gether: Annal., ii., 7, Ccesar — jubel; ipse — sex legiones eo duxit; c. 
20. Seio Tuberoni legato tradit equitem campumque ; peditum aciem 
ita instruxit ut, &c. ; i., 39, perdnci ad se Plancum imperat, recepitque 
in tribunal. — " There are those who ascribe such things to negligence 
in the author. But he seems to me to have thus adjusted them de- 
signedly, like a skillful workman, so as to distinguish wisely and with 
a polished taste what words should flow with a more animated, and 
what with a more tranquil course." — ( Walther on the Annals, ii., 7.) 
[n the same way he places together the historical present, the his- 
torical infinitive, and the perfect: Annal., iii., 20, Eodem anno Tac* 
farinas — bellum in Africa renovat, vagis primum populationibus- — 
dein vicos cxscindere, trahere graves prcedas, postremo — cohortem 



ITS VARIETY. XXXI 

Romanam circumsedit', xii., 51, conjux gravida — toleravit; post — 
ubi quati uterus et viscera vibrantur, or are ut, &c. ; xv., 27, simui con- 
rilio terrorem adjicere, et Megistanas Armenios — pellit sedibus, &c. 

g. There is great variety in the syntax of particles: AnnaL, i., 2, 
per acies ant proscriptione cadere; ii., 70, ea Germanico kaud minus 
ira quam per metum accepta; AnnaL, xi., 32, ut quis reperiebatur in 
publico aut per latebras; iv., 51, nox aliis in audaciam, aliis ad for 
midinem opportuna. — Germ., 20, sororum filiis idem apud avunculurr 
qui ad patrem honor; AnnaL, vi., 22, tristia in bonos, Iceta apud de 
teriores esse. 

VI. Constructions of different kinds are often mingled to 
get her ; and after beginning with some one form of speech, he passes 
abruptly, and without regarding the law of uniformity, to another. 
Thus very often the passive and active voices are mixed up together: 
AnnaL, vi., 44, nihil omissum quo ambiguos illiceret, promti Jirmaren' 
tur; iv., 44, Albim transcendit, longius penetrata Germania quam quis- 
quam priorum. Compare Livy, xxii., 6, quce Punica religione servata 
fides ab Hannibale est, atque in vincula omnes conjecit. — The accusa- 
tive, the accusative with the infinitive, the finite tenses of the verb 
and particles, are mingled together: AnnaL, xv., 50, dum scelera 
principis et finem adesse imperio, deligendumque qui — succurreret inter 
se — jaciunt; Hist., iv., 4, promsit sententiam ut honorijicam in bonum 
vrincipem, ita falsa aberant. (Compare AnnaL, iii., 30, fato poten 
tice — an satias capit.) AnnaL, iv., 38, quod alii modestiam, mulii, 
quia diffideret, quidam ut degeneris animi inter pretabaniur. Compare 
Sallust's Catiline, 10, avaritia — superbiam, crudelitatem, deos neglegere, 
omnia venalia habere edocuit. — The participle, gerund, finite tenses 
of the verb, and particles are placed together : AnnaL, i., 62, quod 
Tiberio haud probatum, sen cuncta Germanici in deterius trahenti, 
sive — credebat; iii., 31, absentiam — meditans, sive ut — impleret; xiii., 
11, orationibus, quas Seneca testificando quam honesta prceciperet vet 
jactandi ingenii — vulgabat; c. 47, socors ingenium ejus in contrarium 
irahens callidumque et simulatorem interpretando. He passes from 
what is called the oblique narration to the direct (as Livy, i., 13, 47, 
57) : AnnaL, iv., 40, ad ea Tiberius — principum diver sam esse sortem; 
falleris enim Sejane, &c. ; Hist., iii., 2, ad ea Antonius Primus— festi- 
nationem ipsis utilem. " Duce tunc Pannonicce ac Mcesica alee perru- 
fere hostem," &c. See, also, the heads Syllepsis and Zeugma, in the 
remarks on the Brevity of his Style, V. 

VII. In the position of words, Tacitus indulges in variety above 
>tber writers, following chiefly the practice of his own age, and he 



XXXI J OIV THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

even sometimes inverts those plnases which other writers are wont 
to preserve constantly in a certain order; as, Annal., xi., 35, consulto 
senatus. (See above, III., e.) 

a. Cognomens, or agnomens, are even placed before names; and 
in the same way, a term signifying the dignity and office with which 
any one is endowed, is expressed before the name itself, as Agrippa 
Postumus and Postumus Agrippa, M. Annceus Lucanus and Lucanut 
Amiams, Asinius Pollio and Pollio Asinius (thus Cicero, also, has Pollio 
Asinius), Anionius Primus and Primus Antonius; dictator C&sar and 
C&sar dictator (as in Cicero, rex Deiotarus; in Livy, rex Prusias) ; 
imperator Augustus, Augustus imperator ; but when this dignity was 
perpetual, from the age of Julius Caesar downward, the title of im- 
perator (as before, in general, that of dictator) used to be placed be- 
fore the proper name. Compare Suetonius ( Cces., 76), honores nimios 
recepit — prcenomen imperatoris. So, besides the common arrangement, 
prcetor Antistius, procurator Marius, augur Lentulus (as in Livy we 
have consul JEmilius, consul Sidpicius). Add to these, tribunus plebis > 
and plehei, and plebis (plebci) tribunus. 

b. Together with the common order of the particles we find an 
anastrophe of the prepositions and conjunctions after the maimer of 
the poets, which is admitted also, though less often, by other writers, 
chiefly of the Silver Age : Amisiam et Lupiam amnes inter, disjecta* 
inter et vix pervias arenas, sedes inter Vestalium : prceturam iNTRi. 
stetit, unum intra damnum; and thus are used super, extra, ultra, con- 
tra, penes, propter, juxta, apud, ad, and ab : Annal., v., 9, vanescente 
quamquam plebis ira (so Cicero) ; Annal., i., 5, acribus namque cus- 
todiis domum — sepserat (so Livy very often) ; Annal., ii., 15, classem 
quippe (Cicero) ; Hist., ii., 17, inritabat quin etiam (Capitolinus) \ 
Dial., 6, illis quin immo (in other writers very rare, and every where 
having the first place) ; Annal., xi., 30, J rue retur immo iis (Plautus); 
Germ., 30, durant siqutdem colles (Pliny the elder). 

c. With the remarks we have made above (VI.) on the mixture of 
constructions may be compared the Synchysis, which Quintilian calls 
a mixture of words, and of which Livy likewise furnishes not a few 
examples: Annal., i., 10, Pompeianarum gratiam partium ; xii., 65, 
sen Britannicus rerum seu Nero potiretur; xiv., 2, tradit Cluvius 
ardore retinendce Agrippinam potenlice. eo usque proveclam, ut, &c. 
c. iv., pluribus sermonibus, modo familiaritate juvenili Nero et rursus 
adductus — tracto in longum cojivictu, prosequitur abeuntem ; hi., 42, in- 
conditam midLitudinem adhuc disjecit, that is, inconditam adhuc. You 
may also refer Tmesis to this head : Annal., xiii., 50, acri etiam popuh 
Romani turn libertate ; Dial., 31, neque enim dum arte et scientia, &c, 
that is, nondum enim; Hist., i., 20, at illis vix decumcs super portiones 
erant. 



ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXX1I1 

ON THE FORCE AND BREVITY OF THE STYLE OF 
TACITUS. 

All agree, without any hesitation, that the peculiar character of 
Tacitus's style is seen most in the concise brevity of his language ; 
and those who have looked into it more closely, till they have even 
explored all the inmost recesses of his sometimes abrupt diction, pre- 
fer Tacitus to all other writers for this very reason, and admire the 
divine aspect of his genius, which, the nearer they approach it, and 
the more intently they hang upon its contemplation, so much the 
more deeply penetrates the minds of the beholders. But if you ask 
whence proceeds and what means that taciturn brevity, and where- 
fore it is that you are sometimes moved by it in the inmost corner of 
your heart, seek the answer from actual life, both that of Tacitus and 
your own. Many were then (as now they are, if we would honest- 
ly confess it) the faults, the vices, the crimes of men, with but rare 
examples of substantial, well-tried virtue ; great were envy and the 
ignorance of right ; many were the mockeries that were made "of the 
affairs of men, and the empty dissensions of the populace; while but 
very few then, as in our own time even by no means all, were seek- 
ing better and higher things. And as it by no means becomes us, 
who are blessed with the hopes and consolations of the Christian 
faith, to mourn over those things which are faulty in our own age 
with the same grief as that with which we behold a Roman, who ac- 
counted nothing to be loftier and grander than the hereditary glory 
and majesty of his country, mourning over the common corruption of 
all things, and over the republic falling headlong to ruin ; so we sure 
ly can not blame in Tacitus that kind of bitter pleasure, and that in 
dignant sparing of words, by which, that he might not, like Sue 
tonius, impose too heavy a burden on his own and his readers' sense, 
of shame by narrating every thing at length with a disgusting loqua- 
city, he has generally conveyed a deeper meaning than his words 
express.* 

I. And, first, in the veiy collocation of his words there is a cer- 
tain force and brevity : non is sometimes separated from its verb and 
placed first, to increase the force of the sentence; as, AnnaL, vi., 32, 

* The most important passage for discovering the filings from which this pe- 
culiarity of the style of Tacitus proceeded is that in the Germania (33), where, 
with as deep emotion as he has ever shown, he says, maneat quceso duretque genti- 
bus, &c. Compare, also, AnnaL, iii., 55, at the end, and Agr., 2, 3 : dedimus pro- 
fscto grande patwntia, documentum — ademto per inquisitiones et loquendi audiendiqitt 
commercio t &c. — propz ad ipsos exacts cetatis terminos per silentium venimus. 

2* 



XX1UV ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

sed non Tiberius omisit incepta; chap, xxxviii., non enim Tiberium, 
quamquam triennio post ccedem Sejani — tempus, preces, satins miUga- 
bant; Hist., ii., 70, at non Vitellius flexit oculos. Frequently a word 
is placed first, to imply tacitly the converse of what is stated ; as, An- 
nal , iii., 2, miserat duas prcetorias cohortes Ccesar, but did not come 
himself. Not ^infrequently some particle is implied in the word 
which is put first; as, Annal., ii., 39, vivere (adhuc) Agrippam ; chap, 
xl., postremo dat negoiium Sallustio (tandem certus consilii). 

II. The force of the language depends often on single words 

a. On frequentatives, which are repeatedly used by Tacitus (and 
Sallust) : some, indeed, he alone employs, as infe?isare, redemtare : 
in contemporary authors, also, and the writers of a later age, we find 
appellilare, adsultare, auctitare, despectare, suspectare (i. e., suspectum 
habere), emtitare, mansitare, pr&tentare. But it must be well ob- 
served, that it is not always the force of the language which depends 
on these words ; but that they also often express an attempt, and that 
a vain one (as loqui cmptare), and in this way, also, assist the brevity 
of the style. 

b. On single words put absolutely: Hist., iii., 55, Latium (». e., 
jus Latii) externis dilargiri; Annal., ii., 32, saxo (Tarpeio) dejectus 
est (compare iv., 29, robur et saxum ant paricidarum pcenas minitari). 
Agr., 22, nee — unquam per alios gesta avidus intercepit, that is, through 
greediness of praise and glory. Hist.,Y., 1, occupare principem adhuc 
vacuum, that is, not yet engaged by another, whose favor does not yet 
incline to any one; so we have mulier vacua, Annal., xiii., 44, vacuus 
adulter, xi., 12. Hist., i., 76, ne Aquitania quidem — diu mansit, that 
is, continued faithful. Annal., ii., 33, excessit Fronto (that is, went 
beyond, or digressed from, the subject before the senate), et postu- 
lavit, &c. (Compare Quintil., hi., 9, 4, egressio, vel, quod usitatius 
esse cospit, excessus.) Dial., 21, videlur miki inter Menenios — studuisse, 
after the manner of the Silver Age, in which sludere is used abso- 
lutely for the study of the art of rhetoric. 

c. On the meaning of the words themselves : as examples of which 
we may adduce rimari, introspicere, dispicere, gliscere (adolescere, 
crescere, augeri, and augere with a passive signification), scevus, atrox, 
ferox, trux, truculentus, grandis, ingens, enormis, all which words he 
uses oftener than other writers. 

III. By an unusual mode of using number, cases, adjectives, 
moods, and particles, the language is rendered more effective and 
concise. 

a. The plural, chiefly of those nouns which are called abstract, 



ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXXA' 

messes various kinds and modes of action: Annul., i., 7 '4, formam 
tfUve itiiit f quam posted celebrem miseHce temporum el audacice hominum 
fecerunt; xiv., 4, ferendas parentium iracundias ; Germ., 2, ipsos 
Qermanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliarum gentium advenlibus 
et hospitiis mixtos. 

b. There is a peculiar force and brevity in the use of the genitive 
(concerning the nominative put absolutely, see below, under ellipsis, 
b. a. dolor, ira)'. Annal., xv., 36, non longam sui absentiam et cuncta 
in republica perinde irnmota ac prosper a fore (sui refers to Nero, whose 
great idea of his own importance is plain from all accounts) ; xi., 24, 
conditor nostri Romulus; ii., 54, nostri origo (a Roman is speaking). 
The genitive plural expresses custom: Annal., ii., 1, Phraates — cuncta 
oenerantium ojjicia ad Augustum verier at (which are wont to be offer- 
ed by those who reverence their prince) ; vi., 40, supplicia civium 
effugit (by which citizens are wont to be affected). To express the 
dispositions and peculiarities of men, the genitive is used more fre 
quently than in other authors, and in a still more unusual way in the 
plural number: Annal., iv., 31, Tiberius compositus alias et velut 
eluctanlium verborum. The partitive genitive is used more extens- 
ively than in other writers, and its use increases the force and per 
spicuity of the narrative ; the same remark applies to the genitive 
joined with pronouns. Annal., xii., 17, navium quasdam circumvenere 
barbari prcefecto cohortis et plerisque centurionum interfectis ; chap, 
xviii., Romanorum nemo id auctoritatis aderat, ut, &c. So we find 
id temporis, solitudinis, honoris, Hist., iv., 23, neque unquam id ma- 
lorum — ut, &c. Ingens rerum, prcecipuus circumveniendi, primus 
luendce posnce. (See below, where Gracisms are treated of.) The 
genitive, which is called objective, is joined with the subjective : Hist., 
iii., 10, ut proditionis ira militum; Annal., xii., 26, Britannici for- 
tunes mceror (Cicero canum adulatio dominorum). To this class be- 
longs that very difficult passage, Annal., xv., 61, itur etiam in princivts 
laudes repetitum venerantium; by those who reverenced the prince 
on account of his wife's restoration ; compare xi., 23, et studiis diversis 
apud principem certabatur adseveraniium, non adco cegram Italiam, ut, 
&c. Compare, On the Poetical Complexion of the Style op 
Tacitus, III., a. The genitive of the passive participle in endus, 
joined with the same case of the substantive (or of the gerund with 
the case which belongs to the verb), the word causa being omitted, 
is uted by no writer oftener than by Tacitus, in his strong desire of 
orevi^, to express the end which any one pursues: Annal., ii., 59, 
s&gyvrum proficiscitur ^ogni scendce antiquitatis ; iv., 2, neque senato-rio 
•jvibitu aostinebat clientes &uos honoribus ant provincits ornandi. Of 
?ci>» same kind are genitives joined with substantives: Hut., iii 4ft. 



XXX VI ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

agendi tempora consultando consumsit; chap. 1., Silvanum socordem 
hello et dies rerum verbis terentem; AnnaL, i., 58, non hie miki primus 
erga populum Romanum Jidei et constantice (sc. osteiitaridso) dies. 

c. Very similar is the use of the dative, which Tacitus has employ- 
ed more frequently than any other writer, and in a more varied man- 
ner, to express an end and advantage, and that, too, in such a way 
that in this mode of speaking, also, he has respect to brevity : as it is 
commonly said, triumvir reipublica constituenda, dividendis agris, 
comitia regi creando, so AnnaL, vi., 37, cum ille equum placando amni 
adomasset; chap, xliii., ubi data fides reddenda dominationi venisse, 
adlevatur animum; Hist., iii., 20, num — cetera expugnandis urbibus 
(utilia) attulissent ; AnnaL, xiv., 3, additurum — defuncta templum et 
aras et cetera ostentandce pietati (compare Livy, xxx., 6, qua restin- 
guendo igni for ent port antes) ; AnnaL, ii., 57, amid accendendis effen- 
sionibus callidi ; AnnaL, xiv., 59, repertus est — nudus exercitando 
corpori. AnnaL, xii., 46, diem locumque fosderi accepii ; i., 51, in- 
cessit itineri et proslio. To the same class belong obtentui, ostentui, 
inrisui, derisui, usui, metui, despectui, potui, victui, vestitui, indutui, 
visui, venatui esse, which are for the' most part rare in other writers. 
For the rest, see below, where Grsecisms are treated of. 

d. The accusative is often joined with verbs which express mo- 
tion without a preposition, after the manner of the Greeks and of the 
poets; as ripam accedere (Cicero), oppidum inrumpere (Csesar, Sal- 
lust), incur sare Germaniam (Livy), involare castra (Cicero, rostra 
advolare'), advolvi genua (Sallust), incidere locum, incidere aliquem (in 
aliquem), adventare propinqua Seleucia, AnnaL, vi., 44 ; propinquare 
campos (Sallust), eniti aggerem (Livy), escendere suggestum (Cicero, 
Livy, and others), evadere angusiias (Livy), elabi pugnam, egredi 
tentoria (Sallust), exire lubricum juventa. This remark applies to 
the following passages, which depart from common usage : Hist., iv., 
76, Germanos — non juberi, non regi; i., 16, gentibus, qua regnantur 
(Pliny the elder) ; AnnaL, iii, 39, is proximum exercitum prasidebat ; 
Germ., 43, vertices montium — insederunt; AnnaL, xi., 20, inngnia 
triumphi indulgere, i. e., concedere ; as if it were to indulge any one 
with them, and so to yield them (Juvenal, sc indulgere, i. e., permit- 
tere alicui) ; similarly Tacitus uses propugnare, potiri, fungi, vesci, 
disserere, fremere aliquam rem; but he likewise, that thus he might 
add force to the narrative, has sometimes used prepositions where 
the common language employs the accusative: Hist., iv., 48, ea de 
cade quam verissime expediam ; Germ., 34, reverentius visum de aclis 
deorum credere quam scire. Concerning the ablative of substantives 
put absolutely, see below, where the participle is treated of. 

e- Brevity is promoted by adjectives which, when joined to sub- 



ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXXVH 

stantives, have the force of genitives, or of other constructions, chiefly 

in expressing those things which belong to lands, cities, or men : 
Annal., iii., 43, Trevericus turnullus ; iv., 20, provincialia uxorum 
crimina; xv., 23, Actiaca religio; iv., 3, municipalis adulter; Hist., 
iv., 15, Caiance (Caii imperatoris) expeditiones ; Annal., i., 6, nover- 
calia odia; chap, vii., uxorius ambitus; senilis adoptio ; 33, muliebres 
ojfensiones; iv., 2, senatorius ambitus, objectively, as chap, lxii., muni- 
cipalis ambitio ; xii., 51, metus hostilis; ii., 44, vacui externo metu ; 
Dial., 29, histrionalis favor. No one has oftener used this manner 
of speaking ; but many similar examples are also found in the older 
writers, as in Cicero, pro Lege Manilia, xii., Ostiense incommodum ; 
Cces. t B. C, ii., 32, Corfiniensis ignominia ; Cic. Fam., ii., 17, melus 
Parthicus, objectively. 

f. The infinitive is very frequently used by Tacitus for the sake 
of this same brevity and force. The infinitive, which is called his- 
torical, is used oftener than, by other writers (as Livy and Sallust ; 
see, On the Variety, &c, V., f.); and it is joined also with parti- 
cles, and not only with demonstrative particles, as is the custom of 
other writers, but even wuth copulatives: Hist., iii., 10, ubi crudescere 
seditio et a conviciis ac probris ad tela et manus transibant injici catenas 
Flaviano jubet. Annal., xi., 34, jam erat in adspectu Messallina — cum 
obstrepere accusator, &c. Sometimes it includes in itself velle and 
posse, or solere : Hist., v., 15, Civilis instare fortunes, Cerialis abolere 
(sc. volebat) ignominiam; Germ., 7, in proximo pignora, unde femi- 
narum ululatus audiri, unde vagitus infantium (sc. possunt). Com- 
pare the similar use of the indicative, subjunctive, and participle be- 
low (h. i.). By no writer is the infinitive oftener joined with verbs, 
which are commonly constructed with the particles ut, ne, quominus, 
quod, or in some other manner. Thus we find used in the oldei 
writers also, but less frequently, hortari, impellere, prmcipere, permit 
tore, postulare, imperare, monere, maturare, prohibere, instare, erube- 
scere, consentire, destinare, pergere, as Annal., xi., 4 (Livy, and others) 
pergitque — addere reos equites Romanorum; chap, xxxiv., instabat — 
Narcissus aperire ambages. A similar use of the following words is 
adopted by the poets : suadere, incumbere, mandare, orare, urgere, 
ambiri, accingi, arcere, persistere, dare, adigere, deesse ; as Hist., iii., 
58, nee deerat ipse voltu, voce, lacrimis misericordiam elicere (but the 
common construction is, Annal., xiv., 39, nee defuit Polyclitus quominus 
— incederet). Tacitus alone appears thus to have used percellere, 
perpellere, cemulari, censere, nuntiare, denuntiare, scribere (i. e., nuntio f 
scripto imperare), impetrare, inlicere, inducer e (i. e., permovere), 
componere, pangere, obsistere {Germ., 34, obstitit Oceanus (tcj) in se 
simul atque in Herculem inquiri), inlacrimare {Annal. ii., 71), inlacri 



XXXVlll ON THE STYLE OF TMCITUS. 

mabt,nt (to, ) quondam jlorentem — muliebri fraude cecidisse. See, On 
the Poetical Complexion, &c, III., c, y. To the verbs deferre 
and incusare, thu infinitive is joined in the place of a genitive or of 

the particle quod; AnnaL, ii., 27, Libo Drusus defertur moliri res 
novas; iii., 38, neque minus Rhosmetalcen — incusans popularium in- 
jurias inultas sinere (compare below, On Gr^ecisms). On the other 
hand, quod and ut are sometimes employed in a more unusual man- 
ner for the accusative with the infinitive : creditum quod — voluisset ; 
quibus jusserat ut — resisterent. See above, d., near the end. 

g. The indicative is often, even in the obliqua oraiio, joined to 
the particle dum ; as AnnaL, ii., 81, Piso oravit uii traditis armis 
maneret in castello, dum Casar cui Syriam permitteret consulitur. 
Former writers have seldom spoken thus ; and so, in general, the in- 
dicative is found more frequently in Tacitus than in other historical 
writers, when sentences are inserted in the obliqua oratio as if they 
proceeded from the mind of the writer himself; as, Hist., iv., 16, se 
cum cohorte, cui praerat — tumultum compressurum. No one, more- 
over, has oftener used the indicative for the subjunctive, in that kind 
of sentences which indicate that that which is implied in the condi- 
tion had almost happened, as we have it in Livy, who not unfre- 
quently speaks thus: iii., 19, nunq nisi Latini — arma sumsissent- — 
deleti eramus, we were lost. Generally nisi, more rarely si, joined 
with the pluperfect, and sometimes with the imperfect, begins the 
condition, and the idea which is limited by it oftener precedes than 
follows in the imperfect, the pluperfect, and sometimes the perfect : 
AnnaL, xi., 10, reciperare Armeniam avebat, ni a Vibio Mar so — co 
hibitus foret; i., 63, trudebanturque in paludem — ni C&sar — legiones 
instruxisset ; Hist., i., 16, si immensum imperii corpus stare — sine 
rector e posset, dignus eram, a quo res publica inciperet. AnnaL, xi., 
37, ni ccedem ejus — properavisset, verier at pernicies in accusatorem 
(thus Cicero, prceclare vie eramus, nisi — Lepidus recepisset Antonium). 
Hist., i., 64, prope in prcelium exarsere, ni Valens — admonuisset (thus 
Livy, ii., 10, pons iter pcene hostibus dedit, ni unus vir fuisset). In- 
stances conformed to the common usage of the language are less fre- 
quent in Tacitus. 

•To the same class belongs the Enallage of the Imperfect for 
i he Pluperfect, which is also used by the older writers, as AnnaL, 
xii., 37, si statim deditus traderer (trad itus essem, fuissem), neque mea 
fortuna, neque tua gloria inclaruisset. Compare Hist., i., 48, Piso 
(interfectus) unum et tricesimum a^tatis annum explebat. In the use 
of tenses in general there is great force. The historical present is 
very frequently used (take as an example of all the rest, AnnaL, i. 
21): foil J wing the writers of the former age chiefly the poets, he 



ITS FORCE A\D BREVITY. XXXIX 

ases the perfect with the force of the Greek aorist, 1. To express 
custom: Agr., 9, haud 'semper errat fama ; aliquando et elegit. 2. In 
the place of the pluperfect; Hist.,\., 53, hunc juvenem Galba — legioni 
prceposuit ; mox — ut peculatorem fiagitari jussit (praeposuerat, jusserat 
olim). 3. The infinitive present for the infinitive future : AnnaL, ii., 
34, Lucius Piso — abire se et cedere urbe — testabatur. 4. The perfect 
for the infinitive future ; iv., 28, non enim se ccedem principis — uno 
socio cogitasse (he would not have thought of it), and Cicero furnishes 
a very similar example, Phil., ii., 3. 

b. The subjunctive ha3 not unfrequently a pregnant sense, in- 
volving posse, velle, opus esse (compare the remarks on the historical 
infinitive and the participle). We find examples of the same thing 
in Cicero, Livy, and others: Agr., 17, cum Cerialis quidem cdterius 
successoris curarn famamque obruisset (obrui potuisset), sustinuit qua- 
que molem Julius Frcmtinus ; AnnaL, i., 11, Tiberioque etiam in rebus 
qvas non occuleret (occulere vellet) — obscura verba; Agr., 22. ex 
iracundia nihil supererat ; secretum et silentium ejus non tirneres (non 
erat causa cur tirneres). To which the common phrase turn cerneres, 
crederes. approaches very nearly There is a similar but less frequent 
use of the indicative: Anual., iv., 40, si dubitatione Augusti movemur 
(nos moveri fas est), quanto -ealidius est, quod, &c; ii., 34, Lucius 
Piso— abire se et cedere urbe (eessuruin). victurum in aliquo abdito et 
ionginquo rure testabatur ; simul curiam relinquebat, i. e.. in eo erat ut 
relinqueret. Compart Hist., i., 46, militare otium redimebant. 

i. The participle does much to increase force of language and 
concise brevity of style, and its use is more varied in Tacitu3 than in 
other writers. 

a. The perfect participle of deponent verbs is put indefinitively 
(aopiGTuc) for the present participle, as ratus, veritus, and others are 
even in the ordinary language; Hist., ii.. 96, in hunc modum etiam 
Vitellius apud milites disseruit prcetorianos nuper exauctoratos insecta- 
tus; and, also, as Livy had used it before, for the future passive par- 
ticiple, which has the force of a present participle: AnnaL, xvi., 21, 
Nero virtutem ipsam exscindere concupivit interfecto (interficiendo) 
Thrasea P&to. The present participle not unfrequently expresses an 
attempt (compare the remarks on the subjunctive and historical in- 
finitive) : Hist., ii , 18, retinenti duci tela inteniare. It is used for the 
infinitive: AnnaL, xiii., 50, sublatis portoriis sequens (thus Cicero 
uses consequens, but with esse added) ut trihutorur^ abolitio expostu- 
laretur. Likewise for a substantive : AnnaL, iii.. 40, disserebant de 
— superbia pr&sidentium, i. e.. prsesidum. Compare Sen.. Clem., 19, 
nihil magis decorum regenti quam dementia. There is a similar brev- 
ity (fipaxv/.oyia) in the use of the future participle active : Anna!., v». 



XJ ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

3, incusabatur facile toleraturus exsilium delecta Lcsbo (jjuod facile 
toleraturus esset): Hist.,YL., 7i, cetera — legiones secuturos, sperabanlur 
(sperabantur hre ut sequerentur). The perfect passive participle is 
used for the finite tenses of the verb : Annal., vi., 32, cupitum et 
Tiberio, i. e., cupiebat; and so it takes the place of a substantive (as 
in Plautus); Annal., iv., 3, nepotes adulti moram cupitis adferebant. 
The neuter of the future passive participle is joined with the verb 
habere, after the manner of the Silver Age (like the perfect participle. 
oralurn te habeo, and as we read in Cicero, cedem tuendam habere)', 
dicendum, respondendum, nubendum habere. 

p. Oftener, and still more boldly than other writers, he uses the 
perfect passive participle in the place of an abstract substantive, 
when it refers even to inanimate objects : Annal., i., 8, cum occisus 
dictator Ccesar — pulcherrimum f acinus videretur ; Annal., vi., 27, 
genus illi decorum, vivida senectus ; et non permissa provincia digna- 
tionem addiderat. Compare Livy, xxvii., 37, liber atas religio-ne meates 
turbavit rursus nuntiatum, Frusinone infant em natum esse quadrima 
par em. 

y. Adjectives ending in His are expressed by perfect passive parti 
ciples; in the same way adjectives which indicate a certain ease and 
perpetuity are expressed by future active participles, and others, also, 
by future passive participles : Agr., 18, nihil arduum aut invictum 
credere (so Sallust) ; Annal., i., 28, noctem minacem et in scelus erup- 
turam fors lenivit ; iv., 38, pulcherrima effigiPs et mansurce (lasting, 
enduring); Dial., 22,firmus sane paries et duraturus ; Annal., ii., 38 
(so Livy, the poets, and the writers of the Silver Age), quamvis 
domus Hortensii pudendam ad inopiam delaberetur (foedam, turpem j 
but it is easily perceived that the participle is more forcible) ; Hist. 
iii., 84, pudenda lalebra semet occultans. 

6. Ablatives which are called absolute are used in an unusual way, 
and generally elliptically ; but examples of the same thing are no< 
wanting in the older writers. The most uncommon case is that oi 
the future active participle employed in this way: Hist., ii., 32, in 
rupturis tarn infestis nationibus. Very often the participle of the sub- 
stantive verb (uv) must be supplied, as it were, in thought, when a 
substantive is found (put absolutely) joined with an adjective or with 
a pronoun: Hist., iii., 26, incipere oppugnationem — arduum, et nvllo 
juxta subsidio anceps; Annal., xi., 23, suffecisse olim indigenas con- 
aanguineis populis ; that is, when yet the nations of Italy were of the 
same race as the Romans ; Livy, xxxvi., 6, labante — disciplina et 
multorum eo statu, qui diuturnus esse non posset. The ellipsis is 
harsher when the adjective or substantive is used alone in this man- 
ner: Annal. ; , 6, juxta periculosa ficta sen vera promeret, i e., curu 



ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. Xll 

juxta periculosum esset (as Livy; so dubio, incerto, sereno)', Anna!., 
iv., 5, initio ah Syria (in other passages we read initio — orto ; as, 
Hist., iii, 44, initio — a prima Adjutrice legione orto) ; hi., 28, dedit jura 
qui s pace et prtncipe uteremur ; i., 59, aliis gentibus igjio^antia imperii 
Romani inexperta esse supplicia. Compare C&sar, B. C, ii., 23, 
Ccesaris naves ejus fuga se receperunt. Like this is the use of the ab- 
lative of substantives in the place of an adverb, as in the older writers, 
also, casu, consensu, nomine, rationc, judicio (as if adhibito were to be 
added), and similar words are found: Annal., i., 59, non enim se pro- 
diiiane — sed palam — helium tractare; Dial., 25, solum inter hos ar- 
biiror Brutum non malignitate nee invidia, sed simpliciter et ingenue 
judicium animi sui detexisse; Annal. , xiv., 5, Acerronia imprudentia 
(cum imprudenter ageret) — navalibus telis conficitur, which serve, as 
it were, for a transition to that use of the ablative in which, oftenei 
than in other writers, it is used by itself, without the participle which 
is commonly joined with it (ductus, commotus), to express a reason ; 
Annal., i., 57, juvenis conscientia cunctabatur ; Hist., i., 63, non oh 
prcedam aut spoliandi cupidine, sed furore et rabie; Annal., xii., 10, 
non se foederis ignaros, nee defectione a familia Arsacidarum venire. 
The perfect passive participle is put absolutely, the substantive being 
omitted much oftener in Tacitus than in the older writers: Annal., 
i^ 35, strictum ohtulit gladium addito acutiorem esse. Thus adjeclo, 
cognito, intellecto, comperto, audito, explorato, nuntiato, qucesito, pen- 
sitato, prcedicto, credito, distincto, repetito, certato, disceptato, ex- 
spectato, interdicto, are found in this writer, and, what is very rare in 
other authors, even without the addition of any words to hold the 
place of the object: Annal., xv., 14, et multum inviccm disceptato, 
Monobazus — testis — adhibetur. 

k. The supine, which no writer uses more frequently than Tacitus, 
is used both in the accusative and ablative, for the sake of brevity ; 
for example, ultum, perditum, raptum, inlusum ire, oppugnatum ve- 
nire; pudet dictu appears to be used by Tacitus alone. Missu, ad- 
monitu alicujus, and similar phrases, are not without example in 
former writers'. 

1. Great power lies in the use of prepositions when they are put, 
according to a rather unfrequent usage, for a simple case (sometimes, 
but not so often, the genitive or another case is used, contrary to the 
common mode of speech, in place of a preposition; as, Hist., i., 40, 
ne volgi largitione (in vulgus) cenlurionum animos averteret). For 
example, Annal., xii., 25, adoptio in Domitium — festinatur; xi., 25, 
isque illi finis inscitice erga domum suamfuit (in things relating to hi a 
house); Hist., ii., 56, in omnefas nefasque avidi autvenales ; Annal., 
iii., 21, Silanus in nepti Au gusli adulter; xv.. 4 4, in crimine incendii 



xlii 



ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 



— amvicti sunt; i , 12, addtdit laudem de Augusto ; Hist. } i., 67, d* 
cccde Galbce ignan; AnnaL, ii., 39, forma haud dissimili in dominum 
erat; Agr., 12, nee aliudpro nobis utilius. Compare, On the variety 
of the Style of Tacitus, V., c, and On the Poetical Complexion, 
&c, III., d., y. 

IV. Frequently, in the composition of a sentence, a deeper sense 
ties hid when, the form of expression not being perfect and precise, 
and the ordinary connection of words being neglected, the feeling 
alone with which the soul of the writer is moved, and the thought 
which he has conceived in his mind, are expressed by a structure of 
the sentence which is called pregnant. There are, indeed, such pass- 
ages in the writers of the former age also, chiefly in Livy ; but not 
so used as to form an essential feature of their style. Hist., hi., 49, 
primus Antonius nequaquam pari innocentia post Cremonam (incensam) 
agebat ; AnnaL, iv., 40, posse ipsam Liviam statuere, nubendum post 
Drusum (mortuum), an in penatibus isdern tolerandum haberet ; An- 
naL, i., 39, jus legationis (violatum) atque ipsius Planci — casum — 
facunde miser atur ; Agr., 18, qui classem, qui navis, qui mare ex- 
spectabant ; that is, the violence of the sea, and the aid to be gained 
from thence; AnnaL, ii., 40, offerant pecuniam, Jidem atque pericula 
polliceantur ; that is, to share the danger; Hist., iv., 59, ceteros, ut 
quisque jlagitium navaverat (that is, had exerted himself in perpe 
(rating wickedness, as in Cicero w r e have navare rcmpublicam) 
prcemiis attollit. The prepositions in and ad are often used to form 
a pregnant sense: AnnaL, i., 55, dissidere hostem in Armmium ac 
Segestem ; that is, they quarreled to such a degree that some went 
over to the side of Arminius, and others to that of Segestes ; chap. 
Ivii., uxor Arminii — neque victa in lacHmas (that is, so as to shed 
tears), neque voce supplex; iii., 19, ceteris ad dicendum testimonium 
exterritis; that is, so as to utter their testimony. Compare Livy, ii., 
40, Coriolanus — constematus ab sede sua cum ferret matri obvice com- 
plcxum; and vii., 42, multitudinem ad arma conslernatam esse. 

V. Nearly allied to these examples are the forms of speech to which 
the Greek grammarians have applied the terms avTiTn^ig and {evyfia, 
in which words that refer to different kinds of things, or to different 
persons, are joined together, and included in one and the same kind 
of construction. Compare, On the Variety, &c, V., b., near the 
end. 

a. The term Syllepsis I would apply chiefly to those passages in 
which things of an entirely different nature are mentioned in con- 
nection with each other; as, donee ira et dies permansit; quia dis 



ITS FORJE AND BREVITY. xll'ii 

nmulationem no-x et lascivia exemerat ; ubi node ac Icetitia incaluissa 
videt ; mixti copiis et Iceiitia; Germania a Sarmatis Dacisqne mntuo 
metu aut montibus separatur ; tribuni cum terrore et armatorum catervis 
wlitabant. In all these cases some affection of the mind is so con- 
nected with things not pertaining to the mind, that, on account of this 
very difference between the two notions, you would expect them to 
be differently expressed, either by the use of words which properly 
belong to each, or, at least, by some variation in the construction of 
the sentence. To this head I would also refer those passages where 
the preposition in, joined with an accusative, includes at the same time 
the ablative or some other sense; Germ., 46, in medium relinquam, 
i. e., in dubium vocatum relinqaam in medio ; Annal., iv., 25, aderant 
semisomnos in barbaros, i. e.. t aderant et irruebant (see below, On the 
Poetical Complexion, &c, III., c, y.): a,nd, moreover, those in 
which the same word refers to different things, all of which might be 
joined with it according to the usage of the language; as, Hist., iii., 
41, ut — Gallias et exercitus et Germanics gentes novum que bellum 
cieret. Compare, also, Hist., ii., 56, in omnefas nefasque avidi; that 
is, greedy of all things, whether it were right or wrong to desire 
■hem. 

S. The term Zeugma applies to those cases in which a verb that 
only suits the words immediately preceding it, and not also those 
which are more remote, is yet made to embrace the latter as well as 
the former within the same kind of construction, some similar verb 
being, as it were, implied in the one used: Annal., vi., 21, turn corn- 
plexus eum Tiberius pr&scium periculorum (esse fatetur) et incolumem 
fore gratatur ; chap, xxiv., ut, quemadmodum nurum jiliumque fratris 
et nepotes (interfecisset) domumque omnem ccedibus complevisset, ita, 
&c. ; Germ., 2, quoniam qui primi Rlienum transgressi ac nunc Tungri 
(vocentur), tunc Germani vocati sint; chap, xxxvi., ita qui olim boni 
(Equique Ckerusci (vocabantur) nunc inertes ac stulti vocantur ; An- 
nal., i., 58, quia Romanis Germ anis que idem conducere (putabam) et 
pacem quam bellum probabam ; xiii., 56, deesse nobis (potest) terra in 
qua vivamus, in qua moriamur non potest; Hist., i., 8, vir facundus et 
pads artibus (expertus), bellis inexpertus. But the zeugma is not al- 
ways in the verb, but sometimes, also, in a word joined to it; as, An- 
nal., ii., 73, et erant qui (Germanici) formam, cetatem, genus mortis, 
ob propinquitatem etiam locorum, in quibus interiit, magni Alexandri 
Tormae, setati, et) fatis adcequarent. 

VI. The figure which is properly called Ellipsis is met with ex 
>msively in Tacitus, and has very great power in augmenting the 
brevity and conciseness of his language. In the plays of the come- 



Xliv ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

dians, also, and in the letters of Cicero, this form of expression is oftsn 
met with. A few examples of each case of it will suffice, 

a. Nouns are omitted : Papia Poppcea (lex), Sidpicia (gens), 
vostero (die), octingentesimo post Romam conditam (anno), ad duode~ 
timum (lapidem), laureates, (litterae), Piraeus Attics orce (portus), 
Apicata Sejani (uxor), pretium est (operse). Also, Pronouns: the 
substantive pronoun, A?maL, i., 35, si vellet imperium, promtos (se) 
ostentavere: the demonstrative pronoun; iv., 60, gnarus prcuferocem 
(eum esse): the relative pronoun; Annal., vi., 7, Seius Quadratics, 
(cujus) originem non repperi; chap, xxxvi., quis neque boni intellectus 
neque mali cura, sed (qui) mercede aluntur. There are examples, also, 
in older writers of the omission of the relative in those phrases which 
are placed in apposition with the principal sentence, either to afford 
an explanation or to express the intention: Annal., vi., 10, L. Piso 
pontifex, (quod) rarum in tanta claHtudine, fato obiit ; i., 3, Augustus, 
subsidia dominationi (quae essent) Claudium Marcellum — Marcum 
A grippam — extulit. 

b. Verbs are omitted. 

a. The infinitive of the Substantive Verb ; and in several passages 
this construction is such that the accusative or nominative appears 
to be simply joined with the verb on which the accusative with the 
infinitive depends: Hist,, ii. 82, sufficere videbantur adversus ViteU 
Hum pars copiarum et dux Mucianus et Vespasiani nomen ac nihil 
arduum fatis (to nihil arduum esse); Annal., i., 73, deorum injurias 
dis curs. But even the indicative and subjunctive moods of this verb 
are omitted oftener than in former writers ; and the indicative chiefly 
in those passages which express the more vehement emotions of the 
mind : Annal,, ii., 82, at Roms, postquam Germanici valetudo percro 
bruit — dolor, ira; Hist., ii., 29, ut vero deformis et jlens et prster spem 
incolumis Valens processit, gaudium, miser atio , favor ; iv., 46, ut vero 
hue illuc distrahi cospere, melus per omnes et prcccipua Germanici milUls 
formido. Annal., i., 65, cum — apud Romanos invalidi igiics, inter- 
rupts voces (essent), atquc ipsi passim adjacerent vallo. 

(3. POSSE, FACERE, AGERE, VERERI, VENIRE, IRE, SE CONFERRE are 

omitted; as, Annal., xiii., 41, Artaxala — solo cequata sunt, quia nee 
teneri (poterant), sine valido prcesidio — nee id nobis virium erat, <Scc. ; 
Agr., 19, nihil per libertos servosque publics rei (actum) ; Annal., i., 
47, quos igitur anteferret ? ac (verendum) ne postpositi comtumelia 
incenderenlur ; xiv., 8, anxia Agrippina quod nemo ajilio ( venire t) m 
ne Agcrinus quidem (rediret). 

y. Very often verbs of sense and speech are omitted; as, Agr., 
33, excepere orationem — alacres ; jamque agmina et armorum ful gores 
andeniissimi cvjusqne procursu (conspiciebantur) ; Annal., i.. 7, vul 



ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. xlv 

tuque composite*, ne Iceti (viderentur) excessu principis neu tristiores 
primordio, lacrimas, gaudium — miscebant ; chap, xxxi., non unus hcec 
(dieebat) — sed multa seditionis or a voces que. 

c. Particles are omitted by no other writer more frequently : 
Annal., xiv., 8, respicit Anicetum (a) trierarcho — comitatum; iii., 19, 
is finis fuii (in) ulciscenda Germanici morte; i., 12, (ex) vultu offen- 
sionem conjectaverat; xiv., 40, tabulas (cum) iis quos memoravi et aliis 
minus inlustribus obsignat; Agr., 35, ne simul in fronlem, simul et (in) 
latera suorum pugnaretitr ; Annal., iii., 30, (incertum est) fato poten- 
ties raro 'sempiternce, an (quia) satias capit, &c. So quod, cum (fol- 
lowed by turn), licet, magis, tantum, tanto, eo, potius, alii, hinc, 
primum, modo, aliquando, ut, ita, tamen, sed are omitted in many 
places. Whole sentences are omitted before the particles nam and 
enim (just as in the Greek writers yap is used in the same way) : 
Annal., xiv., 44, at quidam insontes peribunt ! (and no wonder; nee 
mirum) nam et exfuso exercitu — etiam strenui sortiuntur I chap. xiv.. 
nam et ejus jlagitium est qui, &c. To the same head belongs the 
figure Asyndeton, so much used by Tacitus: Hist., i., 3, futurorum 
prcesagia, Iceta, tristia, ambigua, manifesta; chap. Ixxiii., consulari 
matrimonio subnixa, et apud Galbam, Otkonem, Vitellium inlcesa; 
Annal., iii., 26, vetustissimi mortalium — sine probro, scelere coque sine 
yasna — agebant ; Hist., iv.", 75, eum, qui attulerat, ipsas epistolas ad 
Domitianum misit. 

VII. To this law of brevity some forms of expression appear to be 
opposed, which, however, in reality, increase the force and liveliness 
of the narration. 

a. The figure which is called by Quintilian Anadiplosis, or adjec- 
tion ; that is, the repetition or even more frequent reiteration of the 
same word (chiefly of particles) with a certain force. This is gener- 
ally so managed that the repetition answers the purpose of an omitted 
copulative conjunction, only that it has greater power: Annal., i., 7, 
miles in forum, miles in curiam comitabatur ; Hist., i., 50, mansisse 
Caio Julio, mansisse Ccesare Augusto victore imperium-; Annal., ii. 
82, statim credita, stalim vulgata sunt; Dial., 40, apud quos omnia 
populus, omnia imperiti, omnia {ut sic dixerirn) omnes poterant ; nostra 
quoque civitas, donee erravit, donee se — confecit, donee nulla fuit in 
foro pax, nulla — concordia, nulla — moderatio, nulla — reverentia, 
nullus — molus, tulit, &c. This passage is a clear proof that it was 
chiefly as an orator that Tacitus used this mode of expression, as 
there are very many examples of it in Cicero and Quintilian, but few 
in the historical writers, if you except Livy r who affects the style of 
an orator. 



Xlvi ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

b. Words which are commonly called synonymous, but which, in 
truth, are of such a nature that the one augments, explains, and am- 
plifies with a new sense the signification of the other. Generally, 
substantives, of which Tacitus is very fond, are constructed in this 
manner: seditio et turbce, fulgor et claritudo, dolor et ira, odium et in* 
vidia, modestia et pudor, sanguis et cades, vires et robur. Veteres et 
senes, antiqui ac veteres, do not so much belong to this head, as they 
do not express the same things. Of adjectives, adverbs, and verbs so 
used, the number is less. The following are examples : incertum et 
ambignum, immotum Jixumque, iurbide et seditiose, temere ac fortuito. 
occultare et abdere, pollui fasdarique. 

c. The figure called in Greek ev Std dvolv (Hendiadys), of which 
we have an example in the well-known passage, pateris libamus el 
auro. But the examples of this figure which are found in Tacitus 
(and they are very many) prove that there is a greater power in sub- 
stantives and adjectives, constructed after this manner, than in the? 
usual form of speech : Agr., 16, nee ullum in barbaris scevitice genus 
omisit ira et victoria (this has greater force than ira victoris; it is 
anger and the license of victory, rather than of the conquerors) ; 
Germ., 33, super sexaginta milia — oblectationi oculisque c eciderunt (not 
simply oblectationi oculorum, but for our entertainment and the mere 
pleasure of the spectacle). The copulative conjunction often serves 
for an explanation : Annal., i., 40, incedebat muliebre et miser abilt 
agmen (not miserabile mulierum agmen, but a troop consisting of 
women, and for that reason chiefly miserable). 

d. As to the examples of Pleonasm, they proceeded less from the 
genius of Tacitus than from the common usage of the Latin language, 
nor do they detract in any measure from the brevity of the discourse ; 
since none of the old writers has given offence by thus, as it were, 
expressing things abundantly. But there are also many among these 
passages of such a kind that the one word adds something to the 
meaning of the other. Thus, mare Oceanum is spoken of just as 
Rhenus amnis ; corpus in all writers (contrary to the usage of our 
language) is. used pleonastically in such passages, corporis morbus, 
corporum verbera, libera corpora (liberi homines) : ante provide re, ante 
prcedicere are also used in the older writers; ipse solus, Germ., 38, 
and Dial., 5, and solus et unus, Dial., 34, are explained by referring 
to the Greek avrog jliovoc, and also to that passage of Cicero, Verr., l, 
2 (quod ipsis solis satis essei). 



ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION. xlvil 

ON THE POETICAL COMPLEXION OF THE STYLE OF 
TACITUS. 

That there was among the Greeks in the most ancient times a 
great resemblance between the poets and the historical writers, is 
sufficiently proved by that well-known comparison in which we are 
wont to speak of Homer, the father of epic poetry, as an author re- 
sembling Herodotus, while we call the latter the Homer of history. 
Among the Romans the plan of composing history was different ; for, 
having at first attended only to the registering of annals, and having 
thus been accustomed to set more value on the facts themselves, than 
on the expression of the feelings which move the mind in narrating 
and judging of the several events, when afterward they were led on. 
chiefly by the example of the Greeks, to aspire to more perfect skill 
in the art of writing history also, they then sought more after the 
ornaments of rhetoric than of poetry. And thus, indeed, you would 
justly mention Titus Livius as the most perfect model among all the 
Roman historians, and as the author who chiefly establishes the 
ability of the Romans for that species of composition, and, above all, 
as far excelling those writers who, like Lucan, Silius, and others, 
by doing little more than narrating events in stiff language, lessened 
the gravity of epic verse and hurt the dignity of history, while they 
in vain affected poetical language in order to ornament their records 
of bare facts. Tacitus alone, among all these writers, is worthy to be 
compared with those Greeks ; because he sought not poetical orna- 
ments from without, but was strong in the power of his own genius, 
and in the innate poetical sublimity of his mind. And as Herodotus 
presents to us the likeness of the epic, so does our author chiefly that 
of the lyric and dramatic muse, by arranging every event he records 
after the manner of a tragic poet, and in all things expressing the im- 
pulses of his own mind, nay, even the inmost feelings of his soul 
When, as we read his annals and histories, we see the efforts made 
by men worthy of a better age against the cruelty of princes and me 
common corruption of manners falling fruitless to the ground, but vet 
perceive, at the same time, that there can be good and brave men eveo 
under evil rulers ; when we behold fortune, fate, nay, the gods 1 hem- 
selves, ruling in a wonderful and ever inscrutable manner the divers 
chances of human events ; as we contemj late in his books of annals 
the fatal extinction of the Julian race, and in his histories the mighty 
efforts to establish anew an empire already desolate and falling; do 
we not seem to ourselves to be reading some tragic composition, such 
as those of jEschylus, Sophocles, Euripides? is net the mournful 
irnaga of a Niobe presented before our eyes ! are not our souls per 



Xlviii ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

vaded with a kind of horror as at the sight of a Laocoon attempting 
in vain to burst the frightful knots of serpents ? Surely it is a design 
worthy of the dignity of the Roman Empire, to expend all the re- 
sources of so profound a skill in setting forth what was the fate and 
what the chances of events, through which the power of a " people, 
now for a long time most mighty, destroyed itself ;" what were the 
s T ices both of citizens and rulers, which provoked the vengeance and 
punishment of the immortal gods, so that that mighty imperial struc- 
ture began to fall to ruin. Behold a second Scipio, not sitting among 
the ruins of proud Carthage when she had just fulfilled her destiny, 
but on the soil of Rome herself, even now sinking to destruction, and 
prophesying with gushing tears the ruin of his country ! See him 
meditating, not with a factitious and far-fetched effort, but under 
aspects which to such a mind present themselves spontaneously, upon 
the image of his country, before so excellent and so perfect in all its 
parts, now distorted and ruined ! And we see that he practiced no 
less art than Sophocles used in his divine tragedies, in arranging 
every several part, and assigning its own place to each. After pre 
fixing, both to the histories and to the books of annals, a prologue, m 
which not only the argument of the whole work, but its entire plan 
and character, are briefly shadowed forth, he then leads the minds 
of his readers, now with a quickened, and now with a slackened and 
restrained pace, through all the stages of the action, which are meted 
out in a manner fit and suitable to the things themselves and to the 
laws of art; and he so depicts the natures and characters of men, and 
of the actions performed by them ; he so portrays real life, even in 
its most varied and troubled forms — whether he writes of battles and 
the storming of cities, or whether of things done in the palaces of 
princes, and the houses of private men — that all these things we seem 
to behold with our own eyes, and to be present at them ourselves. 
But these are matters of such a kind that their nature can be less easily 
described than conceived in the mind itself. We shall proceed to 
illustrate, by examples, those points alone which belong to the poetical 
form of the language itself* 

I. Among these examples, the collocation of the words them- 
selves first claims our attention. For, in some passages in Tacitus, 
either whole or half verses are found: Annal., i., 1, Urbem Romam a 
principio reges habuere ; xv., 73, donee consensu patrum deterritus est, 
ne; Germ., 18, bellorum casus putet, ipsis incipientis ; chap. xxxi>. ; 
prcecellunt; nee major apud Cattos peditum lans; chap, xxxix., mtr 
guriis patrum et prisca formidin-e, sacram. But Cicero has already 
observed that verses often fall. al«o, from the pens of writers through 



ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION. xllX 

carelessness, of which there are examples in Livy and many other 
authors: Livy, moreover, as well as Tacitus, begins the preface to 
his books of histories with an hexametrical exordium. And, indeed, 
this circumstance, especially when two principal writers agree in it, 
I can not believe to have fallen out at a venture ; but in the case of 
Tacitus especially, to whose language gravity (aefivov) is said pecul- 
iarly to belong, I should suppose, not, indeed, that he took pains to 
frame a verse in the very outset of his work, but that he retained 
one which had spontaneously offered itself to his mind. 

II. Single Words are used poetically. 

a. Words in themselves poetical, and belonging to a former age : 
desolatus, eburnus, exspes, fatiscere, grandcevus, mersare, prcesagus, 
secundare, &c. And of a later age : adcursus (us), distinctus (us), 
honorus. Simple verbs used for compounds : asperare, celerare, cire t 
jiere (aliquid), gravescere, jutus, propin\uare, radere, solari, suescere, 
temnere, of a later age fiammare. 

b. Words poetical in their signification (chiefly those so used by 
me tony me) : cur a de libro, demissus = origine in trahens, fides, jiducia 
applied to a man who inspires confidence {Hist., ii., 4, 5. Titus — ra- 
gens rerum jiducia accessit et prcecipua concordice fides Titus), fiagi- 
tium = efflagitatio, puerperium = partus, sinister = mams, species = 
acies oculorum),* triste used as a substantive; in the poet3 of the 
later age : annus = proventus anni, transigere = transfigere, transmit- 
tere = transire silentio. Abstract terms are used for concrete 
much oftener than in other prose writers: auxilia, vigilice, militia 
(= milites, Hist., iii., 18, quos militice legionariis — cequabant; com- 
pare Plin., Hist. Nat., iv., 27, Glessaria a succino militice — by the 
soldiers, militibus nostris — appellata, abarbaris Austraria), delectus (in 
civitates remittere, Hist., iv., 71), matrimonia, canjugium, necessitu- 
dines, adfinitates, amicitice, dominationes, nobilitates, remigium, clienteles 
iervitium, exsilium {Hist., i., 2, plenum exsiliis mare), antiquitas, con- 
sultationes, mors, ingenia (pavida, servilia). Substantives are put 
for adjectives, spectator populus, domus regnatrix, corruptor animus, 
victor exercitus, bellator equus (according to the Greek form of ex* 
pression). Adjectives are also used in the place of substantives, 
see III., b. 

* Annul., xi., 31, site ceperat ea (tempestatem ; but Tacitus appears to hare 
written ea designedly to express a less conspicuous object ; any thing of the kind) 
species (ejus). Compare Lwy, xxxvii., 24, spectaculum capessite oculis. So Lucret^ 
iv„ 242, speciem quo vertimus, and oftener ; Vitruv., ix., 4, si tantis intervallis nostra 
tgecics potest id animadvertere, and in other places. 

3 



1 



ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS* 



III. Poetical Structure of the Words: Gr^ecisms* (some 
words have also a Greek form: Dial., 31, grammatice, musice, et 
geometrice. But Tacitus has never followed the practice of his age, 
in mixing words belonging to the Greek tongue with Latin words). 

a. In the use of the Cases. Concerning the ellipsis in the use 
of the Genitive, see, On the Brevity, &c., VI., a. : Apicata Sejant 
(uxor), as the Greeks say 'AXe$avdpog 6 QiXiirnov ; Pirmeus Atticce 
orce (portus) ; as, elc ttjv fyikirrrzov, sc. x&pav. Annal., xv., 14, adje- 
cisse deos (dignum Arsacidarum) tit simul, &c., a^iov rdv 'Apcr. Com 
pare Cic, Balb., 2, mihi quidem dignum rei videtur. Concerning the 
peculiar use of the partitive genitive (ol Qpovifioi ruv avdpuTrov), see, 
On the Brevity, &c, III., b. The genitive is nowhere found more 
frequently than in Tacitus joined to relative adjectives and partici 
pies (as anai c appivov iraiduv), and the same may be said of the Ac- 
cusative, where it is used to apply or restrict the discourse to any 
object (nodac cjkvc, ndvTa evoaifiovelv, to, 6e aKka). A few examples 
will suffice : ingens animi, diversus animi, fallax amicitice, vetus operu 
ac laboris, morum non spernendus, prcecipuus circumveniendi, primus 
, lucndce pasnce, anxius potentice, virtutum sterilis, insolens obsequii, mani- 
festus delicti, ferox linguce, atrox odii; contectus humeros, nudus 
brachia, adlevari animum, cetera degener, cetera egregius. The Da- 
tive is put for the genitive after the manner of the poets : Hist., iii., 
5, Rcetia, cui Porcius procurator erat; Annal., xiii., 23, cui (cujus) 
pernuptias Anionics gener erat (Cic, Demochares—qui fuit Demostlieni 
sor oris films) ; Annal., i., 3, Augustus subsidia dominationi — Marcellum 
~—Agrippam — extulit; ii., 64, immittere latronum globos, exscindere 
castella, causas bello; chap. 46, missus tamen Dritsus — pad firmator; 
iii., 14, vario rumor e, custos saluti an mortis exactor sequeretur. For 
a preposition : Annal., xi., 37 ', florenti filice haud concors; Hist., iv., 
52, Domitiano mitigatus, i. e., mitigatus in Domitiani animo. There 
is a brevity (fipaxvTioyid) in the use of the dative of the participles 
Annal., xiv. 49,, optimum quemque jurgio lacessens et respondenti re 
ticens ; that is, keeping silence if any one answered. There is a very 
close resemblance to this in the use of the dative absolute, borrowed by 
the Latins from the Greeks (thus Herodotus : akrjdel loyu xp £U ^ l ' ( t>)> 
Agr., 11 Germ., 6, in universum astimanti (Curt.); Hist., iv., 17, 
vere reputantibus, Galliam suismet viribus concidisse. Compare hivy t 
xxvi., 24, urbium Corcyrai tenus ab ^Etolia incipienti solum tectaque — 
JEttolorum esse (so Herodotus, ii., 29, and 'ETietyavrlvne 7t61loc Iovtl 
dvavrec kan ^op/ov). On the similar use of the genitive, see, On 
the Brevity, &c., III., b. Annal., xiv., 61, and xi., 23. The dative* 

* But many, also, of the peculiarities explained above, may be considered as 
borrowed from the Greek language. 



ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION. ll 

which is called subjective, is used more frequently by no writer than 
by Tacitus with passive verbs, in place of a preposition with the ab- 
lative. In this circumstance the Greeks have a still greater variety 
and pliability in their language, as is clear from the fact that, beside3 
this dative (lE^EKTai fioL t Hp6.TTt.TO avroZe to, T7jg noXsuc) they use 
not only the preposition vno, but others also, irpoc, napa, ek. Among 
the Latins, the poets have not unfrequently used this form of speech ; 
as Ovid, Barbarus hie ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli; but Cicero 
too, Livy, and others use it. So Tacitus, Annal., i., 1, veteris popuh 
Romani prospera vel adversa claris scriptoribus memorata sunt; iv., 6, 
frumenta — cetera publicorum fructuum societatibus equitum Roman- 
orum agitabantur; xi., 29, Callistus jam mihi circa necem Caii Ccesaris 
narratus. Concerning the accusative, see above, On the Brevity, 
&c, III., d. 

b. In the u»e of Adjectives.* 

a. In the place of Substantives are put neuter adjectives, most- 
ly joined with the genitive (the singular of the adjective being used 
less often than the plural), as well by Livy and other writers as by 
the poets and Tacitus (rd KaTid, ra dvayKala, to TETpafifievov tCjv 
fiapBapov, to no/iTidv ttjc CTpaTifje, da^ua /3o7Jc, i. e., danfiog fiori, t&v 
fiotiv KaTaK£Kpr){ivLO[L£va). Annal., i., 1, populi Romani prospera vel 
adversa; hi., 40, per conciliabula et ccetus seditiosa disserebant ; xiv., 
15, quin et femince inlustres informia meditari. Annal., iii., 59, diver so 
terrarum distineri ; ii., 39, adire municipia obscuro diei. Annal., iv., 
23, incerta belli metuens; as, ambigua, dubia, fortuita, intuta, certa, 
avia, inaccessa, angusta, ardua, lubrica, edita, obstantia, opportuna, 
amasna, plana, subjecta, aperta, profunda, secreta, adversa, sceva, 
subita, occulta, operta, idonea, vana, inania, falsa, tacita, longinqua, 
prima, extrema, summa, prcecipua, reliqua, cetera, alia, pauca, multa, 
are found in Tacitus, joined with the genitive plural. 

/?. Adjectives are very often used by him, as well as by the poets 
after the manner of the Greeks (alvd for aivtic, evdov iravvvxiot, i. e. f 
vvktl, devTepaloc cl^Iketo, i. e., dsvTEpa T/fiepa), for Adverbs, when 
greater power is thereby given to the discourse: Annal., iv., 12, 
domum Germanici revirescere occulti Icetabantur ; xii., 12, si citi ad* 
venissent; v., 1, aufert marito (Liviam) — adeo properus, ut, &c. ; 
Agr., 19, a se suisque orsus primam domum suam coercuit; Annal., iii., 
52, adversum luxum, qui inmensum proruperat ; iv., 60, Tiberius torvui 
autfalsum renidens vultu ; chap. 28, innocentem Comutum et falsa ex 
territum. 

y. The use of the Preposition Ex for Adjectives and Ad- 

* Many points, also, in the mode of comparison which are borrowed from th« 
Greek language, have been noticed above. (See, On the Vaetstt, &c, V., d.) 



fli ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

verbs is very common in Tacitus. This mode of expression the 
poets have generally used after the manner of the Greeks (ek tov eu- 
favEoc, dca t&xovc;, ev ru tyavepti, and also in the plural number, 
which is never thus used by Latin writers, ek tCjv dvvartiv), and some 
examples of this have even passed into the language of common dis- 
course ; as, ex improvise*, ex inopinato, ex insperato, ex composite, ex 
prceparato, ex cequo, ex occulto, in Livy, ex tuto, ex vano, ex super 
vacuo : many instances are found in the writers of the Silver Age ; 
as, ex abundanti, ex continenti (continuo), ex pari, ex toto; in Tacitus, 
ex honesto, ex integro, ex vano, ex facili, ex adjiuenti, ex cequo in many 
places. And on a like principle, per silentium, periram, per licentiam, 
in aperto, in levi, in neutrum, in mollius, in deterius. See, On thb 
Brevity, &c, VII., d., at the end. 

c. In the use of the Verb. Concerning the indefinite (aoristical) 
use of the tenses, see, On the Brevity, &c, III., g., i., and con- 
cerning the use of the infinitive, ibid., III., f. The infinitive is used 
by attraction with the nominative in place of the accusative ; as in 
that passage of Virgil, sensit medios delapsus in hostes; Hist., iv., 55, 
ipse e majoribus suis hostis populi Romani quam socius (esse) jactabat; 
in like manner, Herod., viii., 137, tov ptodov etyacav dlnaioi elvai 
iizo7ia66vTE£ ovtu k^tivat. On the other hand, the accusative, instead 
of the nominative, is joined with the infinitive, after the Greek cus- 
tom (10?? eIvcll fyrparnyov = oTparrjyoc) : Hist., iv., 52, Titum—orasse 
dicebatur; i., 90, Trachali ingenio Othonem uti credebatur ; Germ., 
33, Angrivarios immigrasse narratur. Very seldom dicitur; more fre- 
quently, in Livy, creditur, proditur, traditur, fertur, nuntiatur, are 
found thus used. The infinitive supplies the place of the substantive 
and gerund, after the usage of the Greeks, which has been received 
by the poets, and in a few examples, also, by the writers of the former 
age. 

a. For the nominative: Annal., xv., 20, culpa quam pcena tempore 
prior, emendari quam p ccc are post erius est; Hist., ii., 82, svfficere 
videbantur adversus Vitellium pars copiarum et dux Mucianus et Ves- 
pasiani nomen ac nihil arduum (esse) fatis. 

8. For the genitive, and sometimes for the ablative : Annal., vi., 
12, dato sacerdotibus negotio — vera discerncre; Dial., 3, etiamsi non 
novum tibi ipse negotium importasses — adgregare (Cccsar, B. G., vii., 
71, consilium — dimittere); Agr., 8, peritus (tov) obsequi eruditusquc 
■r<f>) utilia honestis miscere ; Annal., iv., 52, modicus dignationis et 
quoquo facinore properus clarescere (a case without example, even in 
the poets); Annal., ii., 57, atrox ac dissentire manifestns; Agr., 25, 
paratu magno, majorefama, uti mos est de ignotis, " oppugnasse ultro," 
castella adorti. Compare Livy, iv., 31, civitas vinci insueta, iroku, 
xake-KT) haBelv, kKirndeioc. noielv, dia^ipeiv t& tuhic bpzyeoOa 



ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION* lill 

y. For the accusative, and sometimes for the dative, and for the 
former chiefly when a substantive in the same case goes before : An- 
nal., xiii., 15, quia nullum crimen neque jubere ccedem fratris palam 
audebat (compare Cic. t Tusc, i., 26, ut Jovi bibere ministraret) ; An 
nal. , iv., 56,factus natura et consueludine exercitus (ru) velare odium 
fallacibus blanditiis ; Dial., 10, tamquam minus obnoxium sit (rc5) 
offendere poetarum quam oratorum studium. Compare Xen., Apol. 
Socr., 14, Iva en puXkov — ama&Gi rti epe reTiprjoQai virb daipovuv. 
See above, On the Brevity, &c, III., f. There is another Graecism 
in those cases where the particle (hare, so as) is implied in the in- 
finitive : Annal., xi. y 1, non extimuisse contionem populi Romani, fateri, 
gloriamque facinoris ultro petere; xii., 50, atrox hiems, seu parum 
provisi commeatus et orta ex utroque tabes percellunt Vologesen omit- 
tere prcesentia. Compare Thucydides, iii., 6, rfjg pev dahucronc elpyov. 
pj} xpyvdcuy MvTL7i7)vaiovc. 

The Subjunctive, after the manner of the Greek optative, is used 
both by other writers and by Tacitus to imply that a thing has been 
done frequently : Annal., i., 27, postremo deserunt tribunal, ut quis 
— occurreret, manus intentantes; chap. 44, si tribuni, si legio indus- 
triam — adprobaverant, retinebat ordines : ubi avariiiam aut crudeli- 
tatem consensu objectavissent, solvebatur militia (ovc p.ev Idoc evraKToc; 
— iovTcic — eTryvei). Concerning the use of the Participle, compare, 
On the Brevity, &c, III., i. Evidently after the Greek fashion, 
which is adopted also by Sallust, we read in Tacitus invito, cupienti, 
volenti mihi est, for nolo, cupio, volo : Annal., i., 59, ut quibusqut 
bellum invitis aut cupientibus erat, axdofievoic rj rjdopevoLg 7]V, Agr., 18, 
ut quibus bellum volentibus erat. We may find an explanation of this 
in the passages in which volens has the same sense as gratum ( just as 
gnarus is used for notus): Hist., iii., 52, Muciano volentia rescripsere 
(Sallust, volentia plebi facturus videbatur) ; and Annal., ii., 4, Ario 
barzanem — volentibus Armvniis prcefecit (compare Soph., CEd. Col., 
1 505, ttoOovvtl 7rpov(j)dvnc) Sail., Jug., 76, pcenas ipsi volentes pepen- 
derc. Add, lastly, the following phrases, which are actually translated 
from the Greek, and which are common in the poets, Sallust, Livy. 
and others, namely, est for licet, and amare for solere : Germ., 5, est 
videre apud illos argentea vasa; Annal., iv., 9, utferme amat posterior 
adulatio ; eon, <pL?i,el. 

d. In the use of Particles. 

«. Vereor is omitted before the particle ne (see above, on the 
ellipsis of verbs), as in Greek authors we have p.?] rovro aJJhuc exy> 
The particle cum is often wanting (as in Ovid) ; Annal., iii., 64, quin- 
iecimviri septemviris simul ; iv., 55, Hypcepeni Trallianique Laodicenis 
ac Magnetibus simul; vi., 9, Appius Silanus Scauro Mamerco simvl. 
Compare Horn., Od., iv., 723. baaat uot ouov roaQev r/d' eyevovro 



liv ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

/?. Annal., xvi., 9, donee a centurione — famquam in pugna cadet A 
(so Suetonius, OtJw, 5, ab hoste cadere ; Wipes de regibus, hi., 3, periit 
a morbo) — tiavelv vnb tlvoc. Annal., ii., 47, Magnetes a Sipylo, as on 
coins we read Mayvrjoia anb Unzv'kov. Compare Livy,i., 50, Turnus 
Herdonius ab Aricia (Aricinus) ferociter in absentem Tarquinium erat 
invectus. 

y. The preposition in is often used to give greater force where, 
from the common form of speech, you would expect ad, or simply a 
case of the noun 7 or some other construction : in id, in hoc, elg tovto 
(Livy, Velleius, and the poets); in majus celebrare (Livy and Sallust), 
and the like phrases, eitl to fiel^ov Koa\ielv, in unum consulere, etc fiiav 
BovTiCvetv, in unum cedere, elg ev epxeoQai (Livy, Sallust.), in longum, 
in presens, elg &pag, elg to napov (Livy, Sallust, Cicero), in iantum, in 
vulgus, in cetera, in diver sum; Annal., xii., 35, plus vulnerum in nos et 
plerceque coedes oriebantur ; ii., 47, asperrima in Sardianos lues ; chap. 
39, forma haud dissimili in dominum erat; as the Greeks say, elg 
iravTa, elg ayadbv elizelv, eg <p66ov, elg una eowev. Annal. , iv., 25, 
aderant semisomnos in barbaros (see above, On the Brevity, &c, 
V., a., under syllepsis) ; as eg -&povovg e^ovTo, efyavn ?ug elg odov. 

6. We find answering to the Greek phrases, ol TOTe avdpuizoi, i) 
eijaicpvng jueTaaraacg, Agr., 25, universes ultra gentes ; Annal., xiii,, 
41, cuncta extra, tectis tenus, sole inlustria fuere (compare Livy, xxiii., 
27, omni circa agro potiuntur); Annal., i., 27, is ante alios cetate et 
gloria belli (excelling others); Hist., ii.,76, tua ante omnes experientia; 
v., 12, propriique muri labore et opere ante alios, 

e. Adverbs are joined with the substantive verbs instead of ad 
jectives : longe, velocius, frustra, impune est, as in Greek authors we 
have 6tjv, ^KaaTaTU elvai ; and bene, male, recte est, are the common 
forms of expression in speaking of the state of a person's health. 

IV. The Form of Expression itself is Poetical; as, equestris 
procella, aliquid ultra mortale gaudium accipere, arbiter rerum, dira 
quies, in limine belli, conjux sex partus enixa, trucidati mint sine nostro 
sanguine, sera juvenum Venus, marcentem pacem nutrire, vita populi 
Romani per incerta maris et tempestatum quotidie volvitur. Thia 
poetical language consists generally in the following particulars : 

a. Inanimate Objects are spoken of as having life, whence he 
not only speaks thus of animals : Germ., 9, ne armentis quidem suua 
honor aut gloria frontis, but, also, still more boldly, Annal., i , 79 y 
quin ipsum Tiberim nolle prorsus accoiis jluviis orbatum minore gloria 
jluere ; xv., 15, flumen — vi equorum perrupere (as if it were a hostile 
army); Germ., 40, est in insula Oceani castum nemus; Hist., v., 6 
prmcipuum montinm Libanum erigit (Judaea), mirum dictu taMos intei 



JTS POETICAL COMPLEXION. lv 

mrdores opacum Jidumque nimbus; iuem amwem Jordanen fundit aid 
que; Germ., 27, sepulcrum ccespes erigit; Annal., xv., 62, lacrimas 
eorum modo sermone, modo intentior in modum coercentis ad Jirmitu- 
dinem revocat ; Hist., i., 17, circumsteterat interim palatium publica 
exspectatio magni secreti impatiens ; chap, ii., opus adgredior opimum 
casibus, atrox prceliis, discors seditionibus, ipsa etiam pace s&vum; An* 
nal., i., 31, multa seditionis ora vocesque ; chap. 61, incedunt Tii&sios 
loco*, at the end : uhi infelici dextra — mortem invenerit. 

b. The Prosopopoeia of Time is very frequent: Annal. vi., 51, 
morum quoque tempora illi diversa: egregium vita famaque (tempus), 
quoad privatus — -fuit; occultum ac subdolum fingendis virtutibus, donee 
Germanicus ac Drusus superfuere ; idem inter bona malaque mixtus, 
&c, whence it is clear that in these things, also, variety has been 
aimed at; Germ., 30, disponere diem, vallare noctem; Hist., i., 80, 
obsequia meliorum nox abstulerat; Annal., xiii., 17, nox eadem necem 
Britannici et rogum conjunxit; chap. 33, idem annus plures reos ha- 
buit; iv., 15, idem annus alio quoque luctu Casarem adjicit alterum 
ex geminis Drusi liberis extinguendo ; i., 54, idem annus novas cceri- 
monia8 accepit addito sodalium Augustalium sacerdotio; Agr., 22, 
tertius expeditionum annus novas gentes aperuit; Hist., v., 10, proxi- 
mus annus civili bello intentus; Annal., iv., 31, quern vidit sequens 
atas prcepotentum, venalem ; xv., 38, fessa aut rudis pueritice atas ; xiv., 
33, si quos imbellis sexus aut fessa cetas — attinuerat. Livy has not un- 
frequently used this form of expression, as well as Velleius, Pliny 
the elder, Silius, and others; compare Cicero, Brut., 92, interim me 
qucestorem Siciliensis excepit annus. 

C. To THE NAMES OF NATIONS AND OF MEN ARE POETICALLY JOINED 
VERBS, WHICH PROPERLY REFER TO THE APPELLATIVE TO WHICH 
THOSE NAMES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDED IN THE GENITIVE, OT Cer- 
tainly verbs are made to refer to men which, in their common use, 
are only joined to appellatives and abstract nouns : Annal., ii., 25, 
ipse majoribus copiis Marsos inrumpit ; chap. 56, Cappadoces in for* 
mam provincice redacti Quintum Veranium legatum accepere; xii., 
58, tributum Apamensibus terrce rtwtu convolsis — remissum; Agr., 22, 
vastatis usque ad Taum — nationibus : Hist., ii., 87, nee colonic modo 
aut municipia congestu copiarum, sed ipsi cultores arvaque, maturis 
jam frugibus, ut hostile solum vastabantur • Annal., ii., 25, populatur, 
exsemdit non ausum congredi hostem; xii., 49, dum socios magis quam 
kostes prcedatur; xvi., 13, in qua (urbe) omne mortalium genus vis 
pestilentice depopulabatur ; Agr., 41, tot militares viri cum tot cohorti- 
bus expugnati et capti (where Walch, comparing the expression to 
Thucydides's use of EKiroTiiopKeZv, quotes Justin., iii., 4, 11, expugnatit 
veteribus incolis ; Lucret:, iv., 1008, reges expugnare; Livy. xxiii. 30, 



Jvi ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. 

obsessos fame expugnavit ; to which add, Curt., iii., 1, 7, se scire inex* 
yugnabiles esse; ix., 10, 7, tria simul agmina populabantur Indos— 
maritimos Ptolemceus, ceteros ipse rex et ab alia parte Leonnatus ure- 
bant; Livy, xxviii., 6, Jinitimos depopulabantur ; Epit,, 47, lllyrios— 
vastaverant). Annal., xii., 25, se quo que accingeret juvene partem 
curarum capessituro ; iii., 63, Milesios Dareo rege niti; iv., 19, hos 
corripi, dilato ad tempus Sabino, placitum; Hist., ii., 71, Valerium 
Marinum destinatum a Galba consulem distulit; chap. 95, magna et 
misera civitas, eodem anno Otkonem Vitelliumque passa ; iv., 52, amicos 
tempore, fortuna — imminui, transferri, desinere (that is, their atten- 
tions, then* very friendship) ; Annal., iv., 42, Merulam — albo senatorio 
erasit; vi., 42, civitas — conditoris Seleuci retinens (that is, of his insti- 
tutions). Compare Quintil. f viii.. 6 f 25, hominem devorari (that is, 
his goods), Plinius, Hist. Nat., vi., 24, regi—percontanti postea nar- 
ravit Romanos et Ccesarem; vii., 2, supra hos extrema in parte mon- 
Hum Trispithami Pygmaique narrantur. And in the same way tlie 
older writers also use 7 oqui, narrare. 



INDEX OF PLACES IN TACITUS, 

"WHICH ARE QUOTED OR REFERRED TO IN BOTTICHER's REMARKS Oil 
HIS STYLE. 



Chap. 
1 

2 

3 

5 

6 

7 x: 

8 
10 
11 
12 
21 
27 
28 
31 
33 
35 
39 
40 
44 
47 
51 
54 
55 
57 
58 
59 
61 
62 
63 
65 
68 
73 
74 
79 
81 

1 
2 



ANNALES. 




ANNALES. 




ANNALES. 


BOOK I. 




BOOK II. 




BOOK III. 


Page 


Chap. 


Page 


Chap. 


Page 


xlviii., li. (bis.) 


5 


xxx. 


40 


xxxix., li. 


xxvii., xxxi. 


7 


xxx. 


42 


xxxii. 


xliv., 1. 


15 


xxxii. 


43 


xxxvii. 


xxxii. 


20 


xxx. 


50 


xxvii. 


xxxvii., xl. 


25 


lv. (bis.) 


52 


li. 


cxvii., xliv., xlv. 


27 


xxxviii. 


55 


xxxiii. (note. \ 


xl. 


32 


xxxiv. 


59 


li 


xxxii. 


33 


xxxiv. 


63 


lvi 


xxxix. 


34 


xxxix. (bis.) 


64 


liii 


xlii., xlv. 


38 


xl. 


72 


XX? 


xxxviii. 


39 xxxiv., xlii., li., liv. 






liii., liv. 


40 


xxxiv., xlii. 




BOOK IV. 


xl. 


44 


xxxvii. 


1 


xxviii., xxix 


xlv., lv. 


46 


1. 


2 


xxxv., xxxvii 


xxxvii. 


47 


liv. (bis.) 


3 


xxxvii., x) 


xli., xliv. 


54 


xxxv. 


5 


xli 


xxx., xlii. 


56 


lv. 


6 


li 


xlvi. 


57 


xxxvi., lii. 


9 


liii 


liii. 


59 


xxxv. 


11 


xxix 


xliv. 


62 


xxx. 


12 


li. 


xxxvi. 


64 


1. 


15 


lv. 


lv. 


70 


xxxi. 


19 


lvi. 


xlii. 


71 


xxxvii. 


20 


xxxvii. 


xli., xlii. 


73 


xliii. 


21 


xxvii. 


xxxvi., xliii. 


81 


xxxviii. 


23 


li. 


xli., liii. 


82 


xliv., xlv. 


25 


xliii., liv. 


lv. 






28 


xxxix., li. 


xxxi. 




BOOK III. 


29 


xxxiv. 


xxxviii. 


2 


xxxiv. 


31 


xxxv., lv. 


xliv. 


5 


xxx. 


32-33 


xxiv. (note.) 


xxix. 


8 


xxx. 


33 


xxvi. 


xliv. 


14 


1. 


38 


xxvii., xl. 


xxix., xxxv. 


19 


xlii., xlv. 


40 xxxi., xxxix., xlii. 


liv. 


20 


xxx. 


41 


XXV. 


xxix. 


24 

26 


xli. 
xlv. 


42 
44 


lvi. 
xxxi. 


BOOK II. 


30 


xxxi., xlv. 


51 


xxxi. 


XXXV. 


31 


xxxi. 


52 


lii. 


xxix. 


34 


xxvi. 


55 


liii. 


xxx. 


38 


xxvii., xxxviii. 


56 


liii. 


liii. 


39 


xxxvi. 


60 


xliv., li 



Iviii 





ANNALE1S. 




book rv. 


Chap 


Page 


61 


XXX. 


62 


xxxvii. 


67 


xxix. 




BOOK V. 


1 


li. 


9 


xxxii. 




BOOK VI. 


3 


xxxix., xl. 


7 


xliv. 


9 


liii. 


10 


xliv. 


12 


xxv., lii. 


21 


xliii. 


22 


xxxi. 


24 


xliii. 


27 


xl. 


32 


xxxiii., xl. 


33 


xxix. 


35 


xxix. 


36 


xliv. 


37 


xxxvi. 


38 


xxxiv. 


40 


XXXV. 


42 


lvi. 


43 


xxxvi. 


44 


xxxi., xxxvi. 


51 


lv. 




BOOK XI. 


1 


liii. 


4 


xxxvii. 


10 


xxvi., xxxviii. 


12 


xxxiv. 


16 


xxvi., xxviii. 


20 


xxxvi. 


23 


xxxv., xl., 1. 


24 


XXXV. 


25 


xli. 


29 


li. 


30 


xxxii. 


31 


. xlix. (note.) 


32 


xxx., xxxi. 


34 


xxvii. (bis.) 


35 


xxxii. 


37 


xxxviii., 1. 




BOOK XII. 


7 


xxviii. 


10 


xli. 





1ND 


EX. 








ANN ALES. 




ANNA1.ES 




BOOK 


XII. 




BOOK XV. 


Chap. 




Page 


Chap 


Pagt 


12 




li. 


14 


xli., L 


14 




XXX. 


15 


liv. 


17 




xxxv. 


20 


lii. 


18 




xxxv. 


23 


xxxvii 


25 




xli., lvi. 


27 


xxxi. 


26 




xxxv. 


32 


xxvi. 


29 




xxix. 


36 


xxxv. 


35 




liv. 


38 


lv. 


37 




xxxviii. 


44 


xli. 


46 




xxxvi. 


50 


xxxi. 


49 




lv. 


59 


xxix. 


50 




liii. 


62 


lv. 


51 


xxxi., xxxvii. 


73 


xlviii. 


55 




xxix. 






58 




iv. 




BOOK XVI. 


65 




xxxii. 


7 
9 


xxvii. 

liv. 




BOOK 


XIII. 


12 


xxvii. 


11 




xxxi. 


13 


lv. 


15 




xxx., lii. 


21 


xxxix. 


17 




lv. 
xxix. 






21 




23 




1. 




HISTORL3E. 


33 




lv. 




BOOK I. 


40 




XXX, 


2 


xlix., lv. 


41 




xliv., liv. 


3 


xlv 


44 




xxxiv. 


8 


xliii. 


47 




xxxi. 


10 


xxvii., xxviii. 


50 


xxxii., xxxix. 


12 


xxx. 


56 




xliii. 


16 
17 


xxxvi., xxxviii. 
lv. 




BOOK 


XIV. 


20 


xxxiL 


2 




xxxii. 


46 


xxxix., xli. 


3 




xxxvi. 


48 


xxxviii. 


4 


xxviii., xxxii., 


50 


xlv. 






xxxv. 


53 


xxvii., xxix., 


5 




xli. 




xxxix. 


8 




xliv., xlv. 


59 


xli. 


14 




xlv. 


63 


xli 


15 




li. 


64 


xxxviii. 


30 




xxix. 


67 


xlii. 


33 




lv. 


73 


xlv. 


38 




xxix. 


76 


xxxiv. 


39 




xxxvii. 


80 


lv 


40 




xlv. 


88 


xxviii 


44 




xlv. 


90 


lii. 


49 




1. 






55 




xxviii. 




BOOK II. 


59 




xxxvi. 


4 


x!ix 


61 




xxxv., 1. 


5 


xlix 



INDEX. 



lix 





HISTORLE. 




HISTORLE. 




GERMANIA. 




BOOK 


II. 




BOOK IV. 




BOOK V. 


Chap. 




Page 


Chap 


Page 


Chap 


Pag« 


17 




xxxii. 


9 


xxvi. 


39 


xlviii. 


18 




xxxix. 


15 


xxxvii. 


40 


liv 


22 




xxix. 


16 


xxxviii. 


43 


xxxvi. 


29 




xliv. 


17 


1. 


46 


xliii. 


32 




xl. 

xli., xliii. 


23 

32 


xxxv. 

xxviii. 






56 




70 




xxxiv. 


46 


xliv. 




AGRICOLA. 


71 




lvi. 


48 


xxxvi. 


2 


xxxiii. (note.) 


74 




3d. 


52 


W, lii., lvi. 


3 


xxxiii. (note.) 


76 




liv. 


55 


lii. 


4 


xxix. 


82 




xliv., lii. 


59 


xlii. 


8 


lii. 


87 




lv. 


71 


xlix. 


9 


xxxix. 


95 




lvi. 


75 


xlv. 


11 


1 


96 




xxxix. 


76 


xxxvi. 


12 


xlii. 


100 




xxvi. 




BOOK V. 


16 

17 


xlvi. 
xxxix. 




BOOK 


in. 


1 


xxxiv. 


18 


xl., xlii., liii. 


2 




xxxi. 


6 


liv. 


19 


xliv., li. 


5 


xxviii. (bis), 1. 


10 


lv. 


22 xxxiv., xxxix., lv, 


7 




XXVlll. 


12 


liv. 




(bis. 


10 


XXXV 


., xxx vii. 


15 


xxxvii. 


25 


lii., iiv. 


18 




xlix. 






33 
35 

41 


xliv 

xlv 

lv 


20 
26 




xxxvi. 
xl. 




GERMANIA. 


28 




xli. 


2 


xxxv., xliii. 


43 


xxix. 


30 




xxvi. 
xxxv. 


5 
6 


liii. 
1. 






40 




41 




xliii. 


7 


xxxvii. 


DIALO 


44 




xli. 


9 


liv. 




TORIBUS. 


49 




xlii. 


18 


xlviii. 


3 


lii. 


50 




xxxvi. 


20 


xxxi. 


5 


xlvi. 


52 




liu. 


27 


lv. 


6 


xxxii. 


55 




xxxiv. 


30 


xxxii., lv. 


10 


liii. 


58 


XXX 


., xxxvii. 


32 


xlviii. 


18 xxiv. (note),xxvii. 


59 




xxix. 


33 xxxii. (note),xlvi., 


21 


xxxiv. 


60 




xxx. 




lii. 


22 


xxiv. (note), xl 


80 




xxvi. 


34 


xxviii., xxxvi., 


25 


xh 


84 




xl. 




xxxvii 


29 


xxxvii 








35 


xxix. 


31 


xxxii., 1 




BOOK 


IV. 


36 


xliii. 


34 


xlvi 


4 




xxxl 


38 


xlvi. 


40 


xh 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS 

DE 

SITU, MORIBUS ET POPULIS GERMANISE. 



SUMMARY. 
Chap. I. Situation of Ge mi any. II. Its inhabitants probably indigenous. 
— Authors of the race. — Origin of the name. III. A Hercules among 
the Germans also. — Baritus. — Altar of Ulysses. IV. The Germans an 
unmixed race. — Their physical conformation. V. Nature of the country. 
— Contains no gold, no silver. — These metals held in no estimation. 

VI. Arms of the Germans : their cavalry, infantry, mode of warfare. 

VII. Their kings, leaders, priesthood. VIII. Spirit displayed by their 
women, and respect shown them. — Veleda. — Aurinia. IX. Their deities, 
sacred rites. — No images of their divinities. X. Auspices, lots. — Pre 
sages derived from horses, from captives. XI. Public deliberations and 
assemblies. XII. Accusations, punishments, dispensing of justice. 
XIII. Youths adorned with a shield and framea ; companions of the 
chieftains, their valor and wide-spread reputation. XIV. Warlike spirit 
and pursuits of the race. XV. Season of peace, hunting, indolence. — 
Presents bestowed upon the chieftains. XVI. No cities. — Their vil- 
lages, dwellings ; caves serving as a retreat in winter, and as recepta- 
cles for grain, &c. XVII. Attire of the men, of the women. XVIII. 
Matrimonial engagements strictly adhered to. — Dowry brought by the 
husband. XIX. Purity of female morals. — Punishment of adultery. 
XX. Mode of rearing children. — Laws of succession. XXI. The enmi- 
ties as well as friendships espoused of one's father or near relation. — 
Price of homicide. — Hospitality. XXII. Bathing, mode of life, quar- 
rels of the intoxicated, deliberations at banquets. XXIII. Drink. — 
Food. XXIV. Public spectacles. — Fondness for gambling. XXV. 
Slaves, freedmen. XXVI. Taking interest unknown. — Agriculture. — 
Seasons. XXVII. Funerals, tombs, mourning. XXVIII. Institutions 
and customs of individual tribes. — Early migrations of the Gauls into Ger- 
many. — The Helvetii, Aravisci, Boii, Osi. — Tribes of German origin : the 
Treveri, Nervii, Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes, Ubii. XXIX. The B atavi, 
a branch of the Catti.— The Mattiaci.— The tithe-lands. XXX., XXXI 
Country of the Catti, their physical character, military discipline, mai 
tial vows. XXXII. The Usipii. the Tencteri : their superiority in cav- 
alry. XXXIII. Settlements of the Bructeri seized upon and occupied 



<5 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

by the Chamavi and Angrivarii. XXXIV. The Dulgibiui, Chasuari,- 
Frisii. XXXV. The Caaci, distinguished for their love of peace, 
their justice, and other virtues. XXXVI. The Cherusci and Fosi, con- 
quered by the Catti. XXXVII. The Cimbri. — Roman overthrows. — 
The Germans triumphed over rather than conquered. XXXVIII. The 
Suevi, their numbers, their customs. XXXIX. The Seninones, religious 
rites, human sacrifices. XL. The Langobardi, Keudigni, Aviones. An- 
gli, &c. — The worship of Hertha common to all. XLI. The Hermun 
duri. XL II. The Narisci, Marcomanni, duadi. XLIII. The Marsigni, 
Gothini, Osi, Buri, &c. — The Naharvali; their deities, termed Alci; 
the Gotones, Rugii ; Lemovii. XLIV. The Suiones, powerful with 
their fleets. XLV. The Mare Pigrum (Frozen Ocean). — The iEstyi. 
worshipers of the mother of the gods, gatherers of amber. — Over the 
Sitones a female reigns. XL VI. The Peucini, Venedi, Fenni. — Their 
savage character and poverty. — The Hellusii and Oxiones, fables re- 
specting them. 

I. Germania omnia a Gallis Raetisque et Pannoniis 
Rheno et Danubio fhiminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo 
metu aut montibus, separatur. Cetera Oceanus ambit, 
latos sinus et insularura immensa spatia complectens, nu- 
per cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum 
aperuit. Rhenus, Raeticarum Alpium inaccesso ac prae- 
cipiti vertice ortus, modico flexu in Occidentem versus, 
septentrionali Oceano miscetur. Danubius, molli et cle- 
menter edito montis Abnobae jugo effusus, plures populos 
adit, donee in Ponticum mare sex meatibus erumpat , sep- 
timum enim os paludibus liauritur. 

II. Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque 
aliarum gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos ; quia nee 
terra olim, sed classibus, advehebantur, qui mutare sedes 
quaerebant: etinmensus ultra, utque sic dixerim, adversus 
Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navibus aditur. Quis porro, 
praeter periculum horridi et ignoti maris, Asia aut Africa 
aut Italia relicta, Germaniam peteret, informem terris, 
asperam coelo, tristem cultu adspectuque, nisi si patria 
sit ] Celebrant carminibus antiquis (quod unum apud illos 
memoriae et annalium genus est) Tuiscwievi Dcum, terra 
editum, et fclium Mannum, origmem jgestiis ?W}fcfrr**0"* 



L>E GERMAN I A. CAi'. II.— IV. H 

Manna tres Jilios adsignant, e quorum nominibus pioximi 
Oceano Ingcevones, mcdii Herminones, ceteri Istcevones vo- 
ceniur. Quidam autem, licentia vetustatis, plures Deo or- 
tos, pluresque gentis adpellationes, Marsos, Gambrivios, 
Suevos f Vcuidalios adfirmant : eaque vera et antiqua nomina. 
Ceterum Germanice vocabidum recens et nuper additum ; 
quoniam, qui primi Rhenum transgressi Gallos expulcrhit, 
ac nunc Tungri, tunc Germani vocati sint. Ita nationis 
nomen non gentis evaluisse paullatim, ut omnes ■, primum a 
victore ob metum, mox a seipsis invento nomine, Germani 
vocarentur. 

III. Fuisse apud eos et Herculem memo-rant, primumque 
omnium virorum fortium ituri in proelia cariunt. Sunt 
illis haec quoque carmina, quorum relatu, quem baritum 
vocant, accendunt animoSjfuturaequepugnse fortunam ipso 
cantu augurantur : terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit 
acies ; nee tarn vocis ille, quam virtutis concentus videatur. 
Adfectatur prascipue asperitas soni et fractum murmur, 
objectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et gravior vox repercussu 
intumescat. Ceterum et Ulixem, quidam opinantur, longo 
illo etfabuloso error e in liunc Oceanum delatum, adisse Ger 
manice terras, Asciburgiumque, quod in rijpa Rheni situm 
hodieque incolitur, ab illo constitutum nominatumque. Ara?n 
quin etiam Ulixi consecratam, adjecto Laertce patris ?iomine, 
eodem loco olim repertam ; monumentaque et tumulos quos* 
dam, Greeds littcris inscriptos, in conjinio Germanice Rceti- 
ceque adhuc exstare. Quae neque confirmare argumentis, 
neque refellere in animo est : ex ingenio suo quisque dc 
mat, vel addat fidem. 

IV. Ipse eorum opinionibus accedo, qui Germanice 
populos nullis aliarum nationum connubiis infectos, pre- 
priam et sinceram et tantum sui similem gentem exstitisse, 
arbitrantur. Unde habitus quoque corporum, quamquam 
in tanto hominum numero, i iem omnibus ; truces et caerulei 
oculi, rutilae comas, magna corpora et tantum ad impetum 



* C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

valida. Laborio atque operum non eadem patientia: mini- 
meque sitim aestumque tolerare, frigora atque inediarn 
coelo solove adsueverunt. 

V. Terra, etsi aliquanto specie difFert, in universum 
tamen aut silvis horrida, aut paludibus foeda : humidior 
qua Gallias ; ventosior, qua Noricum ac Pannoniam ad 
spicit : satis ferax, frugiferarum arborum patiens, pecorum 
fbecunda, sed plerumque inprocera. Ne armentis quidera 
suus honor, aut gloria frontis: numero gaudent, eaeque 
solae et gratissimae opes sunt. Argentum et aurum pro- 
pitii an irati dii negaverint dubito. Nee tamen ad firm a- 
verim, nullam Germanise venam argentum aurumve gig- 
nere : quis enim scrutatus est] possessione et usu baud 
perin de adficiuntur. Est videre apud illos argentea vasa, 
legatis et principibus eorum muneri data, non in alia vili- 
tate, quam quae humo finguntur : quamquam proximi, ob 
usum commerciorum, aurum et argentum in pretio habent, 
formasque quasdam nostras pecuniae agnoscunt atque eli- 
gunt : interiores simplicius et antiquius permutatione 
mercium utuntur. Pecuniam probant veterem et diu 
notam, serratos, bigatosque. Argentum quoque magis 
quam aurum sequuntur, nulla adfectione animi, sed quia 
numerus argenteorum facilior usui est promiscua ac vilia 
mercantibus. 

VI. Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telo- 
rum conligitur. Rari gladiis, aut majoribus lanceis utun- 
tur. Hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas, gerunt, an- 
^usto et brevi ferro, sed ita acri, et ad usum habili, ut 
eodem telo, prout ratio poscit, vel cominus vel eminus 
pugnent. Et eques quidem scuto frameaque contentus 
est : pedites et missilia spargunt, plura singuli, atque in 
inmensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves. Nulla cultus 
jactatio : scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt : 
paucis loricae : vix uni alterive cassis, aut galea. Equi 
non forma, non velocitate conspicui. Sed nee variare 



DE GERMANIA. CAP. VI.— VIII. 5 

gyros, in rm>rem nostrum, docentur. In rectum, aut uno 
flexu dextros agunt, ita conjuncto orbe, ut nemo posterior 
sit. In universum aestimanti, plus penes peditem roboris : 
eoque mixti proeliantur, apta et congruente ad equestrem 
pugnam velocitate peditum, quos ex omni juventute de- 
lectos, ante aciem locant. Definitur et numerus : centem 
ex singulis pagis sunt ; idque ipsum inter suos vocantur : 
et quod primo numerus fuit, jam nomen et honor est. 
Acies per cuneos componitur. Cedere loco, dummodo 
rursus instes, consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur. Cor- 
pora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. Scutum 
reliquisse, prsecipuum flagitium : nee aut sacris adesse, aui 
concilium inire, ignominioso fas ; multique superstites bel 
lorum infamiam laqueo finierunt. 

VII. Reges ex nobilitate ; duces ex virtute sumunt 
Nee regibus infinita aut libera potestas : et duces exemplo 
potius. quam imperio : si promti, si conspicui, si ante 
aciem agant, aclmiratione prassunt. Ceterum, neque ani- 
madvertere, neque vincire, ne verberare quid em, nisi 
sacerdotibus permissum : non quasi in pcenam, nee ducis 
jussu, sed velut deo imperante, quern adesse bellantibus 
credunt : effrgiesque et signa quaedam, detracta lucis, in 
prcelium ferunt. Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incita- 
mentum est, non casus, nee fortuita conglobatio turmam 
aut cuneum facit, sed familiar et propinquitates ; et in 
proximo pignora, unde feminarum ululatus audiri, unde 
vagitus infantium. Hi cuique sanctissimi testes, hi maximi 
laudatores. Ad matres, ad conjuges vulnera ferunt: nee 
ilia* numerare, aut exigere plagas pavent : cibosque et 
hortamina pugnantibus gestant. 

VIII. Memoriae proditur, quasdam acies, inclinatas jam 
et labantes, a feminis restitutas, constantia precum et 
objectu pectorum, et monstrata cominus captivitate, quam 
longe impatientius feminarum suarum nomine timent : 
adeo, ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus intet 



n C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur. Inesse quin 
etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant : nee aut con- 
silia earam adspernantur, aut responsa negligunt. Vidi 
mus, sub divo Vespasiano, Veledam, diu apud plerosque 
numinis loco habitam. Sed et olim Auriniam et com- 
plures alias venerati sunt, non adulatione, nee tamquam 
facerent deas. 

IX. Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis die- 
bus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem 
ac Martem concessis animalibus placant. Pars Suevorum 
et Isidi sacrificat : unde caussa et origo peregrino sacro, 
parum comperi, nisi quod signum ipsum, in modurn liburnae 
figuratum, docet advectam religionem. Ceterum, nee 
cohibere parietibus deos, neque in ullam bumani oris 
speciem adsimilare, ex magnitudine coelestium arbitrantur 
Lucos ac nemora consecrant; deorumque nominibus ad- 
pellant secretum illud, quod sola reverentia vident. 

X. Auspicia sortesque, ut qui maxime, observant. 
Sortium consuetudo simplex. Virgam, frugiferae arbori 
decisam, in surculos amputant, eosque, notis quibusdam 
discretos, super candidam vestem temere ac fortuito spar- 
gunt. Mox, si publico consuletur, sacerdos civitatis, sin 
privatim, ipse paterfamiliae, pi.ecatus deos, ccelumque sus- 
picions, ter singulos tollit, sublatos, secundum impressam 
ante notam, interpretatur. Si prohibuerunt, nulla de 
eadem re in eundem diem consultatio ; sin permissum, 
auspiciorum adhuc fides exigitur. Et illud quidem etiam 
hie notum, avium voces volatusque interrogare : proprium 
gentis, equorum quoque praesagia ac monitus experiri. 
Publice aluntur iisdem nemoribus ac lucis candidi, et nullo 
mortali opere contacti : quos pressos sacro curru sacerdos 
ac rex vel princeps civitatis comitantur, hinnitusquo ac 
fremitus observant. Nee ulli auspicio major fides, non 
solum apud plebem, sed apud proceres, apud sacer dotes: 
se enim ministros deorum, iilos conscios putant. Est et 



DE GERMAXIA.— CAP. X.-XII. 7 

alia observatio auspiciorum, qua gravium bellorum eventua 
explorant. Ejus gentis, cum qua bellum est, captivum, 
quoquo modo interceptum,cum electo popularium suorum, 
patriis quemque armis, committunt : victoria liujus vel 
tllius pro praejudicio accipitur. 

XL De minoribus rebus principes consultant ; de majo- 
ribus omnes: ita tamen, ut ea quoque, quorum penes ple- 
bem arbitrium est, apud principes pertractentur. Coeunt, 
nisi quid fortuitum et subitum incident, certis diebus, cum 
aut inchoatur luna, aut impletur : nam agendis rebus hoc 
auspicatissimum initium credunt. Nee dierum numerum, 
ut nos, sed noctiura computant. Sic constituunt, sic con- 
dicunt ; nox ducere diem videtur. Illud ex libertate 
vitium, quod non simul, nee ut jussi conveniunt, sed et 
alter et tertius dies cunctatione coeuntium absumitur. Ut 
turbae placuit, considunt armati. Silentium per sacer- 
dotes, quibus turn et coercendi jus est, imperatur. Mox 
rex, vel princeps, prout setas cuique, prout nobilitas, prout 
decus bellorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur, auctoritate 
sua.dendi magis, quam jubendi potestate. Si displicuit sen- 
tentia, fremitu adspernantur ; sin placuit, frameas concuti- 
unt. Honoratissimum adsensus genus est, armis laudare. 

XII. Licet apud consilium accusare quoque et dis- 
crimen capitis intendere. Distinctio pcenarum ex delicto. 
Proditores et transfugas arboribus suspendunt: ignavos et 
imbelles et corpore infames cceno ac palude, injecta in- 
super crate, mergunt. Diversitas supplicii illuc respicit, 
tamquam scelera ostendi oporteat, dum puniuntur, flagitia 
abscondi. Sed et levioribus delictis pro modo poena. 
Equorum pecorumque numero convicti multantur. Par 
multae regi, vel civitati, pars ipsi, qui vindicatur, vel pro- 
pinquis ejus exsolvitur. Eliguntur in iisdem conciliis et 
principes, qui jura per pages vicosque reddant. Centeni 
singulis ex plebe comites, consilium simul et auctoritas, 
adsunt. 



O C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

XIII. Nihil autem neque publicae neque privatae rei, 
nisi armati agunt. Sed arma sumere non ante cuiquam 
moris, quam civitas suffecturum probaverit. Turn in ipso 
consilio, vel principum aliquis, vel pater, vel propinquus, 
scuto frameaque juvenem ornant. Haec apud illos toga, 
hie primus juventse honos : ante hoc domus pars videntur, 
mox reipublicae. Insignis nobilitas, aut magna patrum 
merita, principis dignationem etiam adolescentulis ad- 
signant : ceteris robustioribus ac jam pridem probatis ad- 
gregantur : nee rubor, inter comites adspici. Gradus 
quin etiam et ipse comitatus habet, judicio ejus, quern 
sectantur : magnaque et comitum aemulatio, quibus primus 
apud principem suum locus ; et principum, cui plurimi et 
acerrimi comites. Haec dignitas, hae vires, magno semper 
electorum juvenum globo circumdari, in pace decus, in 
bello praesidium. Nee solum in sua gente cuique, sed 
apud finitimas quoque civitates id nomen, ea gloria est, si 
numero ac virtute comitatus emineat : expetuntur enim 
legationibus, et muneribus ornantur, et ipsa plerumque 
fama bella profligant. 

XIV. Cum ventum in aciem, turpe principi virtute 
vinci, turpe comitatui virtutem principis non adaequare. 
Jam vero infame in omnem vitam ac probrosum, supersti- 
tem principi suo ex acie recessisse. Ilium defendere, 
tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae ejus adsignare, prae 
cipuum sacramentum est. Principes pro victoria pugnant , 
comites pro principe. Si civitas, in qua orti sunt, longa 
pace et otio torpeat; plerique nobilium adolescentium 
petunt ultro eas nationes, quae turn bellum aliquod gerunt; 
quia et ingrata genti quies, et facilius inter ancipitia cla- 
rescant, magnumque comitatum non nisi vi belloque tue- 
are. Exigunt enim principis sui Hberalitat.3 ilium bellato- 
rem equum, illam cruentam victricemque frameam. Nam 
epulae, et convictus, quamquam incomti, largi tamen ap- 
paratus, pro stipendio cedunt. Materia mimincientiae pel 



DE GERMANIA. CAP. XIV.— XVII. 9 

Delia et raptus. Nee arare terram, aut exspectare annum, 
tarn facile persuaseris, quam vocare hostes et vulnera 
mereri. Pigrum quin immo et iners videtur, sudore ad 
quirere, quod possis sanguine parare. 

XV. Quotiens bella nori ineunt, multum venatibus, plus 
per otium transigunt, dediti sornno ciboque. Fortissimus 
quisque ac bellicosissimus nihil agens, delegata domus et 
penatium et agrorum cura feminis senibusque et infir- 
missimo cuique ex familia, ipsi hebent : mira diversitate 
naturae, cum iidem homines sic ament inertiam et oderint 
quietem. Mos est civitatibus, ultro ac viritim conferre 
principibus vel armentorum, vel frugum, quod pro honore 
acceptum etiam necessitatibus subvenit. Gaudent prae- 
cipue finitimarum gentium donis,quae non modo a singulis, 
sed et publice mittuntur ; electi equi, magna arraa, pha 
leras, torquesque. Jam et pecuniam accipere docuimus. 

XVI. Nullas German orum populis urbes habitari, satis 
notum est : ne pari quidem inter se junctas sedes. Colunt 
discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit. 
Vicos locant, non in nostrum morem, connexis et cohae- 
rentibus aedificiis: suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, 
sive adversus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia asdifi- 
candi. Ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum 
usus : materia ad omnia utuntur infbrmi et citra speci- 
em aut delectationem. Quaedam loca diligentius illinunt 
terra, ita pura ac splendente, ut picturam ac lineamenta 
col orum imitetur. Solent et subterraneos specus aperire, 
eosque multo insuper fimo onerant, sufFugium hiemi et 
receptaculum frugibus : quia rigorem frigorum ejusmodi 
locis molliunt; et, si quando hostis advenit, aperta popu- 
latur, abdita autem et defossa aut ignorantur, aut eo ipsa 
fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt. 

XVII. Tegumen omnibus sagum, fibula, aut, si desk, 
spina consertum : cetera intecti totos dies juxta focum 
atque ignem agunt. Locupletissimi veste distinguuntur. 

A 2 



10 L\ CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

non fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ac Parthi, sed stricta et singu- 
los artus exprimente. Gerunt et ferarum pelles, proximi 
ripae negligenter, ulteriores exquisitius, ut quibus nullus 
per commercia cultus. Eligunt feras, et detracta velamina 
spargunt maculis, pellibusque belluarum, quas exterior 
Oceanus atque ignotum mare gignit. Nee alius feminis 
quam viris habitus, nisi quod feminae saepiusJineis amicti- 
bus velantur, eosque purpura variant, partemque vestitus 
superioris in manicas non extendunt; nudae brachia ac 
lacertos. 

XVIII. Sed et proxima pars pectoris patet : quarnquarn 
severa illic matrimonia ; nee ullam morum partem magis 
laudaveris : nam prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus 
contend sunt, exceptis admodum paucis, qui non libidine, 
sed ob nobilitatem, plurimis nuptiis ambiuntur. Dotem 
non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus, offert. Intersunt 
parentes et propinqui, ac munera probant, munera non 
ad delicias muliebres quaesita, nee quibus nova nupta 
comatur; sed boves et frenatum equum et scutum cum 
framea gladioque. In haec munera uxor accipitur : atque 
invicem ipsa armorum aliquid viro affert Hoc maximum 
vinculum, haec arcana sacra, hos conjugales deos arbitran- 
tur. Ne se mulier extra virtutum cogitationes extraque 
bellorum casus putet, ipsis incipientis matrimonii auspiciis 
admonetur, venire se laborum periculorumque sociam, 
idem in pace, idem in prcelio passuram ausuramque. Hoc 
juncti boves, hoc paratus equus, hoc data arma denuntiant, 
Sic vivendum, sic pereundum : accipere se, quae liberis 
inviolata ac digna reddat, quae nurus accipiant, rursusque 
ad nepotes referant. 

XIX. Ergo septae pudicitia agunt, nullis spectaculorum 
lllecebris, nullis conviviorum irritationibus corruptae. Lit- 
terarum secreta viri pariter ac feminae ignorant. Paucis- 
sima in tarn numerosa gente adulteria; quorum poena 
prae-sens, et maritis permissa. Accisis crinibus, nudatam, 



DE GERMANIA. CAP. XlX.-XXl. I J 

coram propinquis expellit clomo maritus, ac per omnem 
vicurri verbere agit. Publicatae enim pudicitiai nulla ve- 
nia; non forma, non aetate, non opibus maritum invenerit. 
Nemo enim illic vitia ridet; nee corrumpere et corrumpi 
saeculum vocatur. Melius quidem adhuc eae civitates, in 
quibus tantum virgines nubunt, et cum spe votoque uxoris 
semel transigitur. Sic unum accipiunt maritum, quo modo 
unum corpus unamque vitam, ne ulla cogitatio ultra, ne 
longior cupiditas, ne tamquam maritum, sed tamquam 
matrimonium, ament. Numerum liberorum finire, aut 
quemquam ex agnatis necare, flagitium habetur : plusque 
ibi boni mores valent, quam alibi bonas leges. 

XX. In omni dorao nudi ac sordidi, in hos artus, in 
haec corpora, quae miramur, excrescunt. Sua quemque 
mater uberibus alit, nee ancillis ac nutricibus delegantur. 
Dominum ac servum nullis educationis deliciis dignoscas. 
Inter eadem pecora, in eadem humo degunt, donee aetas 
separet ingenuos, virtus agnoscat. Sera juvenum Venus: 
eoque inexhausta pubertas. Nee virgines festinantur; 
eadem juventa, similis proceritas. Pares validaeque mi- 
scentur, ac robora parentum liberi referunt. Sororum 
filiis idem apud avunculum, qui apud patrem honor. Q,ui- 
dam sanctiorem arctioremque bunc nexum sanguinis ar- 
bitrantur, et in accipiendis obsidibus magis exigunt ; tam- 
quam ii et animum firmius, et domum latius teneant 
Heredes tamen successoresque sui cuique liberi ; et nul- 
lum testamentum. Si liberi non sunt, proximus gradus in 
possessione fratres, patrui, avunculi. Quanto plus propin- 
quorum, quo major affinium numerus, tanto gratiosior 
eenectus, nee ulla orbitatis pretia. 

XXI. Suscipere tarn inimicitias, seu patris, seu propin- 
qui, quam amicitias, necesse est. Nee inplacabiles durant. 
Luitur enim etiam homicidium certo armentorum ac pe- 
corum numero, recipitque satisfactionem universa domus : 
Uiliter in publicum ; quia periculosiores sunt inimicitiae 



12 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

juxta libertatern. Convictibus et hospitiis non alia gens 
efmsius indulget. Quemcumque mortalium arcere tecto, 
nefas habetur : pro fortuna quisque adparatis epulis ex- 
cipit. Cum defecere, qui modo hospes fuerat, monstrator 
hospitii et comes: proximam domum non invitati adeunt: 
nee interest : pari humanitate accipiuntur. Notum igno- 
tumque, quantum ad jus hospitii, nemo discernit. Abe- 
unti, si quid poposcerit, concedere moris : et poscendi in- 
vicem eadem facilitas. Gaudent muneribus : sed nee data 
inputant, nee acceptis obligantur. Victus inter hospites 
comis. 

XXII. Statim e somno, quern plerumque in diem extra- 
hunt, lavantur, saepius calida, ut apud quos plurimum hiems 
occupat. Lauti cibum capiunt : separatae singulis sedes 
et sua cuique mensa. Turn ad negotia, nee minus saepe ad 
convivia, procedunt armati. Diem noctemque continuare 
potando, nulli probrum. Crebrae, ut inter vinolentos, rixae, 
raro conviciis, saepius caede et vulneribus transiguntur. 
Sed et de reconciliandis invicem inimicis et jungendis ad- 
finitatibus et adsciscendis principibus, de pace denique ac 
bello, plerumque in conviviis consultant : tamquara nullo 
magis tempore aut ad simplices cogitationes pateat animus, 
aut ad magnas incalescat. Gens non astuta, nee callida, 
aperit adhuc secreta pectoris licentia jocL Ergo detecta 
et nuda omnium mens postera die retractatur, et salva 
utriusque temporis ratio est. Deliberant, dum fingere 
nesciunt: constituunt, dum errare non possunt. 

XXIII. Potui humor ex hordeo aut frumento, in quan- 
dam similitudinem vini corruptus. Proximi ripaa et vinum 
mercantur. Cibi simplices ; agrestia poma, recens fera, 
aut lac concretum. Sine adparatu, sine blandimentis, ex- 
pellunt famem. Adversus sitim non eadem temperantia. 
Si indulseris ebrietati, suggerendo quantum concupiscunt, 
baud minus facile vitiis, quam armis, vincentur. 

XXIV. Genus spectaculorum unum atque in omni co^Xv 



DE GERMANIA. CAP. XX1V.-XXV1. 13 

dem. Nudi juvenes, quibus id ludicrum est, inter gladios 
se atque infestas frameas saltu jaciunt. Exercitatio altera 
paravit, ars decorem : non in quaestum tamen, aut rnerce- 
dera : quamvis audacis lasciviae pretium est voluptas 
spectantium. Aleara (quod mirere) sobrii inter seria ex- 
ercent, tanta lucrandi perdendive temeritate, ut, cum om- 
nia defecerunt, extremo ac novissimo jactu de libertate 
et de corpore contendant. Victus voluntariam servitutem 
adit : quamvis juvenior, quamvis robustior, adligari se ac 
venire patitur. Ea est in re prava pervicacia : ipsi fidem 
vocant. Servos conditionis hujus per commercia tradunt, 
ut se quoque pudore victoriae exsolvant. 

XXV. Ceteris servis, non in nostrum morem, discriptis 
per familiam ministeriis, utuntur. Suam quisque sedem, 
suos penates regit. Frumenti modum dominus, aut pe- 
coris, aut vestis, ut colono, injungit ; et servus hactenus 
paret. Cetera domus officia uxor ac liberi exsequuntur. 
Verberare servum ac vinculis et opere coercere, rarum. 
Occidere solent, non disciplina et severitate. sed impetu et 
ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod impune. Libertini non multum 
supra servos sunt, raro aliquod momentum in domo, num- 
quam in civitate ; exceptis dumtaxat iis gentibus, quae 
regnantur. Ibi enim et super ingenuos et super nobiles 
ascendunt : apud ceteros impares libertini libertatis argu- 
mentum sunt. 

XXVI. Fenus agitare, et in usuras extendere, ignotum : 
ideoque magis servatur, quam si vetitum esset. Agri, pro 
numero cultorum, ab universis in vices occupantur, quos 
mox inter se secundum dignationem partiuntur : facili- 
tatem partiendi camporum spatia praestant. Arva per an- 
nos mutant ; et superest ager : nee enim cum ubertate 
st amplitudine soli labore contend unt, ut pomaria conse- 
rant et prata separent et hortos rigent : sola terras seges 
imperatur. Unde annum quoque ipsum non in totidem 
digerunt species : biems et vcr et aestas intellectum, rc 



14 C. CORNELIUS TACITUfc. 

vocabula habent; auctumni perinde nomen ac bon* igno 
rantur. 

XXVII. Funerum nulla ambitio : id solum observ'it lr, ut 
corpora clarorum virorum certis lignis crementur. fitruem 
rogi nee vestibus, nee odoribus, cumulant : sua cuique 
arma, quorundam igni et equus adjicitur. Sepulcrum 
cespes erigit. Monumentorum arduum et operosum hono- 
rem, ut gravem defunctis, adspernantur. L amenta ac 
lacrimas cito, dolorem et tristitiam tarde ponunt. Feminia 
lugere honestum est; viris meminisse. Haec in commune 
de omnium Germanorum origine ac moribus accepimus : 
nunc singularum gentium instituta ritusque, quatenus 
differant, quae nationes e G-ermania in Gallias commigra- 
verint, expediam. 

XXVIII. Validiores olim Gallorum res fuisse, sumraus 
auctorum divus Julius tradit : eoque credibile est, etiam Gal- 
los in Germaniam transgressos. Quantulum enim amnis 
obstabat, quo minus, ut quseque gens evaluerat, occuparet 
permutaretque sedes, promiscuas adhuc et nulla regnorum 
potentia divisas ] Igitur inter Hercyniam silvam Rhenum- 
que et Mcenum amnes Helvetii, ulteriora Boii, Gallica 
utraque gens, tenuere. Manet adhuc Boiemi nomen, 
significatque loci veterem memoriam quamvis mutatis 
cultoribus. Sed utrum Aravisci in Pannoniam ab Osis, 
Germanorum natione, an Osi ab Araviscis in Germaniam, 
commigraverint, cum eodem adhuc sermone, institutis, 
moribus utantur, incertum est : quia, pari olim inopia ac 
libertate, eadem utriusque ripae bona malaque erant. 
Treveri et Nervii circa adfectationem Germanicae originis 
ultro ambitiosi sunt, tamquam, per hanc gloriam sanguinis, 
a similitudine et inertia Gallorum separentur. Ipsam 
Rheni ripam haud dubie Germanorum populi colunt, 
Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes. Ne Ubii quidem quam- 
quam Romana colonia esse meruerint, ac libentius Agrij)- 
vinenses conditoris sui nomine vocentur, origine eru- 



DE GERMAN I A. CAP. XXVIIJ.-XXX. 15 

bescunt, transgressi olim et experimento fidei super ipsam 
Rheni ripam collocati, ut arcerent, non ut custodirentur. 

XXIX. Omnium harum gentium virtute praecipui Ba- 
tavi, non multum ex ripa, sed insulam Rheni amnis, colunt, 
Cattorum quondam populus, et seditione domestica in eas 
sedes transgressus, in quibus pars Romani imperii fierent. 
Manet honos et antiquae societatis insigne : nam nee tri- 
butis contemnuntur, nee publicanus adterit : exemti 
oneribus et collationibus, et tantum in usum proeliorum 
sepositi velut tela atque arma, bellis reservantur. Est in 
eodem obsequio et Mattiacorum gens. Protulit enim 
magnitudo Populi Romani ultra Rhenum, ultraque veteres 
terminos, imperii reverentiam. Ita sede finibusque in sua 
ripa, mente animoque nobiscum agunt, cetera similes Ba- 
tavis, nisi quod ipso adhuc terras suae solo et coelo acrius 
animantur. Non numeraverim inter Germaniae populos, 
quamquam trans Rhenum Danubiumque consederint, eos, 
qui Decumates agros exer^ent. Levissimus quisque Gal- 
lorum, et inopia audax, dubiaa possessionis solum occu- 
pavere. Mox limite acto promotisqu^ praesidiis, sinus 
imperii et pars provincial habentur. 

XXX. Ultra hos Catti initium sedis ab Hercynio saltu 
inchoant, non ita effusis ac palustribus locis, ut ceterae 
civitates, in quas Germania patescit : durant siquidem 
colles, paulatimque rarescunt; et Cattos suos saltus Her- 
cynius prosequitur simul atque deponit. Duriora genti 
corpora, stricti artus, minax vultus, et major animi vigor. 
Multum (ut inter Germanos) rationis ac sollertiae : prae- 
ponere electos, audire praepositos, nosse ordines, intelli- 
gere occasiones, differre impetus, disponere diem, vallare 
noctem, fortunam inter dubia, virtutem inter certa nume- 
rare : quodque rarissimum, nee nisi Romanae disciplinae 
concessum, plus reponere in duce, quam in exercitu. 
Omne robur in pedite, quem super arma ferramentis quo- 
que et copiis onerant. Alios ad proelium he videas, Cat 



16 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

tos ad bellum : rari excursus et fortuita pugna. Eques- 
trium sane virium id proprium, cito parare victoriam, cito 
cedere. Yelocitas juxta formidinem, cunctatio propior 
constantiae est. 

XXXI. Et aliis G-ermanorum populis usurpatum rara 
et privata cuj usque audentia apud Cattos in consensum 
vertit, ut primum adoleverint, crinem barbamque submit- 
tere, nee, nisi hoste caeso, exuere votivum obligatumque 
virtuti oris habitum. Super sanguinera et spolia revelant 
frontem, seque turn demum pretia nascendi retulisse dig- 
nos que f atria ac parentibus ferunt. Ignavis et imbellibus 
manet squalor. Fortissimus quisque ferreum insuper an- 
nulura (ignominiosum id genti) velut vinculum gestat, 
donee se caede hostis absolvat. Plarimis Cattorum hie 
placet habitus. Jamque canent insignes, et hostibus simul 
suisque monstrati : omnium penes hos initia pugnarum ; 
haec prima semper acies visu torva. Nam ne in pace 
quidem vultu mitiore mansuescunt. Nulli domus, aut 
ager, aut aliqua cura : prout ad quemque venere, aluntur: 
prodigi alieni, contemtores sui ; donee exsanguis senec- 
tus tarn durae virtuti impares faciat. 

XXXII. Proximi Cattis certum jam alveo Rhenum, 
quique terminus esse sufficiat, Usipii ac Tencteri colunt. 
Tencteri, super solitum bellorum decus, equestris dis- 
ciplines arte praecellunt; nee major apud Cattos peditum 
laus, quam Tencteris equitum. Sic instituere majores, 
posteri imitantur. Hi lusiis infantium, haec juvenum aemu- 
latio; perseverant senes. Inter familiam et penates et 
jura successionum equi traduntur ; excipit filius, non, ut 
cetera, maximus natu, sed prout ferox bello et melior. 

XXXIII. Juxta Tencteros Bructeri olim occurrebant; 
nunc Chamavos et Angrivarios immigrasse narratur, pulsia 
Bructeris ac penitus excisis,vicinarum consensu nation urn; 
seu superbiae odio, sen praedae dulcedine, sen favore (»uo- 
dam erga nos deorum : nam ne spectaoulo quidem prcelil 



DE GERMANIA. OAP. XXX1U.-XXXVI. 17 

invidere : super sexaginta milia, non armis telisque Ro- 
manis, sed, quod magnificeutius est, oblectationi oculisque 
ceciderunt. Maueat, quaeso, duretque gentibus, si non 
amor nostri, at certe odium sui ; quando, urgentibus im- 
perii fatis, nihil jam praestare fortuna majus potest, quam 
hostium discordiam. 

XXXIV. Angrivarios et Chamavos a tergo Dulgibini 
et Chasuari cludunt, aliaeque gentes, haud perinde memo- 
ratae. A fronte Frisii excipiunt. Majoribus minoribusque 
F?'isiis vocabulum est ex modo virium. Utraeque nationes 
usque ad oceanum Rheno praetexuntur, ambiuntque im- 
mensos insuper lacus et Romanis classibus navigatos. 
Ipsum quin etiam oceanum ilia tentavimus : et superesse 
adhuc Herculis columnas fama vulgavit, sive adiit Her- 
cules, seu, quidquid ubique magnificum est, in claritatem 
ejus referre consensimus. Nee defuit audentia Druso 
Germanico : sed obstitit oceanus in se simul atque in Her- 
culem inquiri. Mox nemo tentavit ; sanctiusque ac reve- 
rentius visum de actis deorum credere quam scire. 

XXXV. Hactenus in Occidentem Germaniam novimus. 
In Septemtrionem ingenti flexu redit. Ac primo statim 
Caucorum gens, quamquara incipiat a Frisiis, ac partem 
litoria occupet, omnium, quas exposui, gentium lateribus 
obtenditur, donee in Cattos usque sinuetur. Tam im- 
mensum terrarum spatium non tenent tantum Cauci, sed 
et implent, populus inter Germ an os nobilissimus, quique 
magnitudinem suam malit justitia tueri : sine cupiditate, 
sine impotentia, quieti secretique, nulla provocant bella, 
nullis raptibus aut latrociniis populantur : idque prascip- 
uum virtutis ac virium argumentum est, quod, ut su- 
periores agant, non per injurias adsequuntur. Promta 
tamen omnibus arma, ac, si res poscat, exercitus : pluri- 
raum virorum equorumque: et quiescentibus eadem fama. 

XXXVI. In latere Caucorum Cattorumque Cherusci 
nimiam ac marcentem diu pacem illacessiti nutrierunt : 



18 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

idque jucundrus, quam tutius, fuit : quia inter impotentes 
et validos falso quiescas; ubi manu agitur, modestia ac 
probitas nomina superioris sunt. Ita, qui olim honi cequi* 
que Chemsci, nunc inertes ac stulti vocantur : Cattis vic- 
toribus fortuna in sapientiam cessit. Tracti ruina Che- 
ruscorum et Fosi, contermina gens, adversarum rerum ex 
aequo socii, cum in secundis minores fuissent. 

XXXVII. Eundem Germaniae sinum proximi oceano 
Cimbri tenent, parva nunc civitas, sed gloria ingens : 
veterisque famae late vestigia manent, utraque ripa castra 
ac spatia, quorum ambitu nunc quoque metiaris molem 
manusque gentis et tarn magni exitus fidem. Sexcentesi- 
mum et quadragesimum annum urbs nostra agebat, cum 
primum Cimbrorum audita sunt arma, Caecilio Metello ac 
Papirio Carbone coss. Ex quo si ad alterum imperatoris 
Trajani consulatum computemus, ducenti ferine et decern 
anni colliguntur. Tamdiu Germania vincitur. Medio 
tarn longi aevi spatio, multa invicem damna : non Samnis. 
non Poeni, non Hispaniae Galliaeve, ne Parthi quidem 
saepius admonuere : quippe regno Arsacis acrior est Ger- 
manorum libertas. Quid enim aliud nobis, quam caedem 
Crassi, amisso et ipso Pacoro, infra Ventidium dejectus 
Oriens objecerit? At Germani Carbone et Cassio et 
Scauro Aurelio et Servilio Caepione Cnaeo quoque Manlio 
fusis vel captis, quinque simul consulares exercitus Populo 
Romano, Varum tresque cum eo legiones etiam Cassari 
abstulerunt : nee impune Caius Marius in Italia, divus 
Julius in Gallia, Drusus ac Nero et Germanicus in suis 
eos sedibus perculerunt. Mox ingentes Caii Caesaris 
minae in ludibrium versae. Inde otium, donee occasione 
discordiae nostras et civilium armorum, expugnatis legio- 
nura bibernis, etiam Gallias adfectavere : ac rursus pulsi 
inde, proximis temporibus triumph ati magis quam victi 
sunt. 

XXXVIII. Nunc de Suevis dicendum est, quorum non 



DE GERMANIA. CAP. XXXVIII.— XL. 19 

nna, ut Cattorum Tencteroramve, gens: majorera enim 
Germanise partem obtinent, propriis adbnc nationibus 
nominibusque discreti, quamquam in commune Sucvi vo- 
centur. Insigne gentis obliquare crinem nodoque sub- 
stringere. Sic Suevi a ceteris Germanis, sic Suevorum 
ingenui a servis separantur. In aliis gentibus, seu cog- 
natione aliqua Suevorum, seu (quod saepe accidit) imita- 
tione, rarum et intra juventae spatium ; apud Suevos usque 
ad canitiem borrentem capillum retro sequuntur, ac saepe 
in ipso solo vertice ligant. Principes et ornatiorem ha- 
bent : ea cura formae, sed innoxia. Neque enim ut ament 
amenturve ; in altitudinem quamdam et terrorem, adituri 
oella, comti, ut bostium oculis ornantur. 

XXXIX. Vetustissimos se nobilissimosque Suevorum 
Semnones memorant. Fides antiquitatis religione firma- 
tur. Stato tempore in silvam, auguriis patrum et prisca 
formidine sacram, omnes ejusdem sanguinis populi lega- 
tionibus coeunt, caesoque publice homine celebrant barbari 
ritus borrenda primordia. Est et alia luco reverentia. 
Nemo nisi vinculo ligatus ingreditur, ut minor, et potes- 
tatem numinis prae se ferens : si forte prolapsus est, attolli 
et insurgere baud licitum : per bumum evolvuntur : eoque 
omnis superstitio respicit, tamquam inde initia gentis, ibi 
regnator omnium deus, cetera subjecta atque parentia, 
Adjicit auctoritatem fortuna Semnonum. Centum pagis 
habitant : magnoque corpore efficitur, ut se Suevorum 
caput credant. 

XL. Contra Langobardos paucitas nobilitat : plurimis 
ac valentissimis nationibus cincti, non per obsequium, sed 
prceliis et periclitando tuti sunt. Reudigni deinde et 
Aviones et Angli et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et 
Nuitbones fluminibus aut silvis muniuntur. Nee quid- 
quam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune Hertbam, 
id est, Terram matrem, colunt, eamque intervenire rebus 
hominum, invebi populis, arbitrantur. Est in insula 



20 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

oceani eastum nemus, dicatumque in eo \ehiculum, veste 
contectum: attingere uni sacerdoti concessum. Is adesse 
penetrali deam intelligit, vectamque bubus feminis multa 
cum veneratione prosequitur. Lseti tunc dies, festa loca, 
quaecunque adventu hospitioque dignatur. Non bella 
ineunt, non arma sumunt ; clausum omne ferrum : pax et 
quies tunc tantum nota, tunc tantum amata, donee idem 
sacerdos satiatam conversatione mortalium deam templo 
redd at. Mox vehiculum et vestes, et, si credere velis, 
numen ipsum secreto lacu abluitur. Servi ministrant ; 
quos statim idem lacus haurit. Arcanus hinc terror 
sanctaque ignorantia, quid sit illud quod tantum perituri 
vident. 

XL I. Et haec quidem pars Suevorum in secretiora 
Germanise porrigitur. Propior (ut, quo modo paulo ante 
Rhenum, sic nunc Danubium sequar) Hermundurorum 
civitas, fida Romanis, eoque solis Germanorum non in 
ripa commercium, sed penitus atque in splendidissima 
Raetiae provinciae colonia : passim et sine custode transe- 
ant ; et, cum ceteris gentibus arma modo eastraque nostra 
ostendamus, his domos villasque patefecimus non concu- 
piscentibus. In Hermunduris Albis oritur, flumen incli- 
tum et notum olim ; nunc tantum auditur. 

XLII. Juxta Hermunduros Narisci, ac deinde Marco- 
manni et Quadi agunt. Praecipua Marcomannorum gloria 
viresque, atque ipsa etiam sedes, pulsis olim Boiis, virtute 
parta. Nee Narisci Quadive degenerant. Eaque Ger- 
manias velut frons est, quatenus Danubio peragitur. Mar- 
comannis Quadisque usque ad nostram memoriam reges 
manserunt ex gente ipsorum, nobile Marobodui et Tudri 
genus ; jam et externos patiuntur. Sed vis et potentia 
regibus ex auctoritate Romana : raro armis nostris, sa^pius 
pecunia juvantur. 

XLIII. Nee minus valent retro Marsigni, Gotliini; Osi, 
Buri : terga Marcomannorum Quadorumque cludunt : e 



IJE GERMANIA. CAP. XLIII.-XLIV 21 

quibus Marsigni etBuri sermone cultuque Suevos referunt 
Gothinos Gallica, Osos Pannonica lingua, coarguit rion 
esse Germanos, et quod tributa patiuntur : partem tribu- 
torum Sarrnatae, partem Quadi, ut alienigenis imponunt. 
Gothini, quo magis pudeat, et ferrum effodiunt: omnes- 
que hi populi pauca campestrium, ceterum saltus et ver- 
tices montium insederunt. Dirimit enim scinditque Sue- 
viam continuum montium jugum, ultra quod plurimae 
gentes agunt : ex quibus latissime patet Lygiorum nomen 
in plures civitates diffusum. Valentissimas nominasse 
sufficiet, Arios, Helveconas, Manimos, Elysios, Naharva- 
los. Apud Naharvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur. 
Praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu : sed deos, interpreta- 
tione Romana, Castorem Pollucemque memorant. Ea vis 
nurnini; nomen Alcis : nulla simulacra, nullum peregrinae 
superstitionis vestigium : ut fratres tamen, ut juvenes, 
venerantur. Ceterum Arii super vires, quibus enumeratos 
paulo ante populos antecedunt, truces, insitae feritati arte 
ac tempore lenocinantur : nigra scuta, tincta corpora ; 
atras ad proelia noctes legunt; ipsaque formidine atque 
umbra feralis exercitus terrorem inferunt, nullo hostium 
sustinente novum ac velut infernum adspectum : nam 
primi in omnibus prceliis oculi vincuntur. Trans Lygios 
Gotones regnantur, paulo jam adductius quam ceterae 
Germanorum gentes, nondum tamen supra libertatem, 
Protinus deinde ab oceano Rugii et Lemovii: omniumque 
harum gentium insigne, rotunda scuta, breves gladii, el 
erga reges obsequium. 

XLIV. Suionum hinc civitates, ipso in oceano, praetei 
viros armaque classibus valent : forma navium eo differt, 
quod utrinque prora paratam semper appulsui frontem 
agit : nee velis ministrantur, nee remos in ordinem lateri- 
bus adjungunt. Solutum, ut in quibusdam fluminum, et 
mutabile, ut res poscit, hinc vel illinc remigium. Est 
apud illos et opibus honos, eoque unus imperitat, iiuUia 



22 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

jam exceptionibus, non precario jure parendi : nee arraa, 
ut apud ceteros Germanos, in prorniscuo, sed clausa sub 
custode et quidem servo, quia subitos hostium incursua 
prohibet oceanus, otiosae porro armatorum manus facile 
lasciviunt: enimvero neque nobilem, neque ingenuum, ne 
libertinum quidem, armis praeponere regia utilitas est. 

XLV. Trans Suionas aliud mare, pigrum ac prope im- 
motum, quo cingi cludique terrarum orbem hinc fides ; 
quod extremus cadentis jam solis fulgor in ortus edurat 
adeo clarus, ut sidera hebetet ; sonum insuper audiri for- 
masque deorum et radios capitis adspici persuasio adjicit. 
Illuc usque et fama vera tantum natura. Ergo jam dextro 
Suevici maris littore iEstuorum gentes alluuntur: quibus 
ritus habitusque Suevorum ; lingua Britannicae propior-^ 
Matrem deum venerantur : insigne superstitionis formas 
aprorum gestant. Id pro armis omnique tuteia securum 
deas cultorem etiam inter hostes praestat. Harus ferri, 
frequens fustium usus. Frumenta ceterosque fructus pa- 
tientius, quam pro solita Germanorum inertia, laborant. 
Sed et mare scrutantur, ac soli omnium succinum, quod 
ipsi glesum vocant, inter vada atque in ipso littore legunt. 
Nee, quee natura, quaeve ratio gignat, ut barbaric, quaesi- 
tum compertumve. Diu quin etiam inter cetera ejecta- 
menta maris jacebat, donee luxuria nostra dedit nomen : 
ipsis in nullo usu ; rude legitur, informe perfertur, preti- 
umque mirantes accipiunt. Succum tamen arborum esse 
intelligas, quia terrena quaedam atque etiam volucria ani- 
malia plerumque interlucent, quaa implicata humore mox 
durescente materia cluduntur. Fecundiora igitur nemora 
lucosque sicut Orientis secretis, ubi tura balsamaque su- 
dantur, ita Occidentis insulis terrisque inesse, crediderim; 
quae vicini solis radiis expressa atque liquentia in proxi- 
mum mare labuntur, ac vi tempestatum in adversa littora 
exundant. Si naturam succini admoto igni tentes, in 
modum taedse accenditur, alitque flammam pingiiem et 



1)E GERMANIA. CAP. XLV.-XLVf. '-23 

olentem : mox ut in picem resinamve lentescit. Suioni- 
bus Sitonum gentes continuantur. Cetera similes uno 
differ unt, quod femina dominatur : ji tantum non modo a 
libertate sed etiam a servitute degenerant. Hie Sueviae 
finis. 

XL VI. Peucinorum Venedorumque et Fennorum na- 
tiones Germanis an Sarmatis adscribam, dubito, quam- 
quam Peucini, quos quid am Bastarnas vocant, sermone, 
cultu, sede ac domiciliis ut Germani agunt. Sordes omni- 
um ac torpor: procerum connubiis mixtis nonnihil in Sar- 
matarum habitum fcedantur. Venedi multum ex moribus 
traxerunt. Nam quidquid inter Peucinos Fennosque sil- 
varum ac montium erigitur, latrociniis pererrant : hi tamen 
inter Germanos potius referuntur, quia et domos figunt et 
6cuta gestant etpeditumusu ac pernicitate gaudent; quae 
omnia diversa Sarmatis sunt, in plaustro equoque viventi- 
bus. Fennis mira feritas, foeda paupertas : non arma, non 
equi, non penates : victui herba, vestitui pelles, cubile 
humus : sola in sagittis spes, quas, inopia ferri, ossibus 
asperant : idemque venatus viros pariter ac feminas alit. 
Passim enim comitantur, partemque prasdae petunt. Nee 
aliud infantibus ferarum imbriumque suffugium, quam ut 
in aliquo ramorum nexu contegantur : hue redeunt juve- 
nes, hoc senum receptaculum. Sed beatius arbitrantur 
quam ingemere agris, inlaborare domibus, suas alienasque 
fortunas spe metuque versare. Securi adversus homines, 
securi adversus deos, rem difficillimam adsecuti sunt, ut 
illis ne voto quidem opus*esset. Cetera jam fabulosa • 
Hcllusios et Oxionas ora liominun, viiltusque, corpora atque 
artus ferarum gerere: quod ego ut incompertum, in me- 
dium relinquam, 



C, CORNELII TACIT I 



JULII AGRICOL^E 



C. CORNEL II TACIT I 

JULIT AGRICOLiE 

VITA. 



SUMMARY. 
5hap. I. The custom of writing the lives of illustrious men an ancient one 
II. Dangerous, however, under bad princes. III. This custom resumed 
by Tacitus, under the happy reign of Nerva, in honor of Agricola, the 
writer's father-in-law. IV. Origin and education of Agricol a. V. The 
rudiments of the military art learned by him in Britain. VI. He mar- 
ries. — Is appointed, in succession, quaestor, tribune, praetor, &c. VII. 
His mother murdered during a hostile descent made by Otho's fleet on 
the coast of Liguria, her lands ravaged, and a great part of her effects 
earned off. — Agricola goes over to the side of Vespasian, and receives 
the command of the 20th legion, in Britain. VIII. Excellent deport- 
ment of Agricola while in command. IX. Returns to Rome. — Is called 
by Vespasian to the patrician order, and invested with the government 
of Aquitania. — Is chosen consul. — Betroths his daughter to Tacitus. — Is 
appointed governor of Britain. X. Description of Britain. XL Origin 
of the Britons. — Their physical conformation, sacred rites, language, 
general character. XII. Their military strength, form ©f government, 
climate, soil, &c. XIII. Their cheerful submission to levies, tributes, 
&c. — The expedition of Caesar into Britain. — Long neglect of the island 
subsequently, on the part of the Romans. — Invasion of Britain in the 
reign of Claudius, and restoration of the Roman authority. XIV Opera- 
tions of the consular governors. XV. Britons meditate a rebellion. 
XVI Boadicea, a female of royal descent, their leader. — Defeated by 
Suetonius Paullinus. — Roman governors of inferior ability succeed Paul 
linus. XVII. Petilius Cerialis and Julius Frontinus restore affairs to 
their former footing. — The former subdues the Brigantes, the latter the 
Silures. XVIII. Agricola reduces the Ordovices, and the island Mo- 
na. — He finally brings the whole province into a peaceful state. XIX., 
XX. His moderation, prudence, equity, &c, in regulating the affairs 
of his province. XXI. Endeavors to reclaim the natives from their rude 
and unsettled state by making them acquainted with the comforts of 
civilized life. XXIL, XXIII. New expeditions discover new nations 
of Britons to the Romans, and fortresses are erected to keep them in 
obedience. — Agricola' s candor as regarded the meritorious actions of 



28 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

others. XXIV. Design formed by him of invading Hibernia. XXV.- 
XXVII. The countries situated beyond Bodotria are explored. — The 
Caledonians attack a portion of the forces of Agricola, but, after some 
partial successes, are defeated by him, on his coming up with his other 
forces. — New preparations made by the enemy. XXVIII. A cohort 
of the Usipii, by a strange chance, circumnavigate the island of Britain. 
XXIX. Agricola loses his son, about a year old. — The Britons renew 
the war, under Calgacus as their leader. XXX.-XXXII. Address of 
Calgacus to his followers. XXXIII,, XXXIV. Address of Agricola to 
his soldiers. XXXV.-XXXVII. Fierce and bloody battle. XXXVIII 
Victory of the Romans. — Agricola orders Britain to be circumnavigated. 
XXXIX. The account of these operations received by Domitian with 
outward expressions of joy, but inward anxiety. XL . He, nevertheless, 
directs honors to be rendered to Agricola. — The latter returns to Rome, 
and leads a modest and retired life. XLI. Often accused before Do- 
mitian, in his absence, but as often acquitted. XLII. Excuses him- 
self from taking a province as proconsul. XLIII. Dies, not without 
suspicion of having been poisoned by Domitian. XLIV. His age at 
the time of his death. — His personal appearance, &c. XLV. Happy 
in having ended his days before the atrocities of Domitian broke forth. 
XL VI. General reflections. 

I. Clarorum virorum facta moresque posteris tradere, 
antiquitus usitatum, ne nostris quidem temporibus, quam- 
quam incuriosa suorum aetas omisit, quotiens magna aliqua 
ac nobilis virtus vicit ac supergressa est vitium parvis 
magnisque civitatibus commune, ignorantiam recti et in- 
vidiam. Sea* apud priores ut agere memoratu digna pro- 
num magisque in aperto erat, ita celeberrimus quisque 
ingenio, ad prodendam virtutis memoriam, sine gratia aut 
ambitione, bonae tantum conscientiae pretio ducebatur. 
Ac plerique suam ipsi vitam narrare fiduciam potius mo- 
rum quam arrogantiam arbitrati sunt : nee id Rutilio et 
Scauro citra fid em aut obtrectationi fait : adeo virtutes 
iisdem temporibus optime aestimantur, quibus facillime 
gignuntur. 

II. At mihi, nunc narraturo vitam defuncti hominis, 
venia opus fuit ; quam non petissem, ni cursaturus tam 
saeva et infesta virtutibus tempora. Legimus, cum Aru- 
ieno Rustico Paetus Thrasea, Herennio Senecioni Priscus 



AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. Hi— III. 29 

Helvidius laudati essent, capitale fuisse : neque in ipsos 
modo auctores, sed in libros quoque eorum saevitum, dele 
gato triumviris ministerio, ut monumenta clarissimcrum 
ingeniorum in comitio ac foro urerentur. Scilicet illo igne 
vocem populi Romani et libertatem senatus et conscien- 
tiam generis humani aboleri arbitrabantur, expulsis in- 
super sapientiae professoribus atque omni bona arte in 
exilium acta, ne quid usquam honestum occurreret. De- 
dimus profecto grande patientiae documentum : et sicut 
vetus aetas vidit quid ultimum in libertate esset, ita nos 
quid in servitute, ademto per inquisitiones et loquendj. 
audiendique commercio. Memoriam quoque ipsam cum 
voce perdidissemus, si tarn in nostra potestate esset obli- 
visci, quam tacere. 

III. Nunc demum redit animus : et quamquam prim© 
statim beatissimi saeculi ortu Nerva Caesar T, es olim dis- 
sociabiles miscuerit, principatum ac libertatem, augeatque 
quotidie felicitatem temporum Nerva Trajanus, nee spem 
modo ac votum securitas publica sed ipsius voti fiduciam 
ac robur assumserit, natura tamen infirmitatis humanse 
tardiora sunt remedia, quam mala; et, ut corpora lente 
augescunt, cito exstinguuntur, sic ingenia studiaque op- 
presseris facilius, quam revocaveris. Subit quippe etiam 
ipsius inertias dulcedo, et invisa primo desidia postremo 
amatur. Quid ] si per quindecim annos, grande mortalis 
aevi spatium, multi fortuitis casibus, promtissimus quis 
que saevitia principis interciderunt ] Pauci, ut ita dix 
erim, non modo aliorum, sed etiam nostri superstates 
sumus; exemtis e media vita tot annis, quibus juvenes 
ad senectutem, senes prope ad ipsos exactae aetatis ter 
minos, per silentium venimus. Non tamen pigebit, vel 
incondita ac rudi voce, memoriam prioris servitutis ac 
testimonium praesentium bonorum composuisse. Hie in- 
terim liber, honori Agricolae soceri mei destinatus, pro- 
fessione pietatis aut laudatus erit, aut excusatus 



30 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

IV. (Xaeus Julius Agricola, vetere et illustri Foro 
juliensiurn colonia ortus, utrumque avum procuratorem 
Caesarum habuit, quae equestris nobilitas est. Pater Julius 
Graecinus, senatorii ordinis, studio eloquentiae sapientiae- 
que notus, iisque virtutibus iram Caii Caesaris meritus: 
namque M. Silanum accusare jussus et, quia abnuerat 
interfectus est. Mater Julia Procilla fuit, rarae castitatis: 
in hujus sinu indulgentiaque educatus, per omnem hones- 
tarum artium cultum pueritiam adolescentiamque transe- 
git. Arcebat eum ab illecebris peccantium, praeter ipsius 
bonam integramque naturam, quod statim parvulus sedem 
ac magistram studiorum Massiliam habuerat, locum Graeca 
comitate et provinciali parsimonia mixtum ac bene com- 
positum. Memoria teneo, solitum ipsum narrare, se in 
prima juventa studium philosophies acrius^ ultra quam con- 
cessum Romano ac senatori, hausisse, ni prudentia matris 
incensum ac jlagrantem animum coercuissei. Scilicet sub- 
lime et erectum ingenium pulchritudinem ac speciem ex- 
celsae magnaeque gloriae vehementius quam caute appete- 
bat. Mox mitigavit ratio et aetas : retinuitque, quod est 
difficillimum, ex sapientia modum. 

V. Prima castrorum rudimenta in Britannia Suetonio 
Paulino, diligenti ac moderato duci, approbavit, electus 
quem contubernio aestimaret. Nee Agricola licenter, 
more juvenum qui militiam in lasciviam vertunt, neque 
segniter ad voluptates et commeatus titulum tribunatus et 
inscitiam retulit: sed noscere provinciam, nosci exercitui, 
discere a peritis, sequi optimos, nihil appetere in jacta- 
tionem, nihil ob formidinem recusare, simulque anxius et 
intentus agere. Non sane alias exercitatior magisque in 
ambiguo Britannia fuit : trucidati veterani, incensae co- 
loniae, intercepti exercitus ; turn de salute, mox de victo- 
ria certavere. Quae cuncta etsi consiliis ductuque alterius 
agebantur, ac summa rerum et recuperatae provinciae glo- 
ria in ducem cessit, artem et usum et stimulos addidere 



AGRICOL^E VITA. CAP. V.-VII. 31 

juveni : intravitque animum militaris gloriae cupido, in- 
grata temporibus, quibus sinistra erga eminentes interpre 
tatio, nee minus periculum ex magna fama, quam ex mala. 

VI. Hinc ad capessendos magistratus in urbem di- 
gressus,DomitiamDecidianam, splendidis natalibus ortam, 
sibi junxit : idque matrimonium ad majora nitenti decus 
ac robur fuit : vixeruntque mira concordia, per mutuam 
caritatem et invicem se anteponendo ; nisi quod in bona 
uxore tanto major laus, quanto in mala plus culpae est. 
Sors quaesturae provinciam Asiam, proconsulem Salvium 
Titianum dedit : quorum neutro corruptus est ; quam- 
quam et provincia dives ac parata peccantibus, et pro- 
consul in omnem aviditatem pronus, quantalibet facilitate 
redemturus esset mutuam dissimulationem mali. Auctus 
est ibi filia, in subsidium et solatium simul : nam filium 
ante sublatum brevi amisit. Mox inter quaesturam ac 
tribunatum plebis atque ipsum etiam tribu~ atus annum 
quiete et otio transiit, gnarus sub Nerone temporum, qui- 
bus inertia pro sapientia fuit. Idem praeturae tenor et 
silentium : nee enim jurisdictio obvenerat. Ludos et in- 
ania honoris modo rationis atque abundantise duxit, uti 
longe a luxuria, ita famae propior. Turn electus a Galba 
ad dona templorum recognoscenda, diligentissima conqui- 
sitione fecit, ne cujus alterius sacrilegium respublica quam 
Neronis sensisset. 

VII. Sequens annus gravi vulnere animum domumque 
ejus afflixit : nam classis Othoniana, licenter vaga, dum 
Intemelios (Liguriae pars est) hostiliter populatur, matrem 
Agricolae in praediis suis interfecit ; praediaque ipsa et 
magnam patrimonii partem diripuit, quae causa caedis 
fuerat. Igitur ad solennia pietatis profectus Agricola, 
nuntio affectati a Vespasiano imperii deprebensus, ac 
statim in partes transgressus est. Initia principatus ac 
statum urbis Mucianus regebat, admodum juvene Domi- 
tiano, et ex paterna fortuna tantun7 J .entiam usurpante. 



32 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

Is raissum ad delectus agendos Agricolam, integreque ac 
6trenue versatum, vicesimae legioni, tarde ad sacramentum 
transgressae, praeposuit, ubi decessor seditiose agere nar- 
rabatur; quippe legatis quoque consularibus nimia ac 
formidolosa erat; nee legatus praetorius ad cohibendum 
potens, incertum, suo an militum ingenio : ita successor 
simul, et ultor electus, rarissima moderatione maluit videri 
invenisse bonos, quam fecisse. 

VIII, Praeerat tunc Britanniae Vettius Bolanus, placi- 
dius, quam feroci provincia dignum est : tempera^it Agri- 
cola vim suam, ardoremque compescuit, ne incresceret ; 
peritus obsequi, eruditusque utilia lionestis miscere. Brevi 
deinde Britannia consularem Petilium Cerealem accepit. 
Habuerunt virtutes spatium exemplorum. Sed primo 
Cerealismodo labores et discrimina, mox et gloriam com- 
municabat : saepe parti exercitus in experimentum, ali- 
quando majoribus copiis ex eventu praefecit : nee Agri- 
cola umquam in suam famam gestis exsultavit ; ad aucto- 
rem et ducem, ut minister, fortunam referebat. Ita virtute 
in obsequendo, verecundia in praedicando, extra invidiam, 
nee extra gloriam erat. 

IX. Revertentem ab legatione legionis divus Vespasi- 
anus inter patricios adscivit, ac deinde provincial Aqui- 
taniae praeposuit, splendidae in primis dignitatis, admi- 
nistratione ac spe consulatus, cui destinarat. Credunt 
plerique, militaribus ingeniis subtilitatem deesse ; quia 
castrensis jurisdictio secura et obtusior, ac plura manu 
agens, calliditatem fori non exerceat. Agricola naturali 
prudentia, quamvis inter togatos, facile justeque agebat. 
Jam vero tempora curarum remissionumque divisa. Ubi 
conventus ac judicia poscerent, gravis, intentus, severus, 
et saepius misericors : ubi officio satisfactum, nulla ultra 
potestatis persona: tristitiam et arrogantiam et avaritiam 
exuerat : nee illi, quod est rarissimum, aut facilitas auc- 
toritatem, aut severitas amorem deminuit. Integritatem 



AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. IX.-X. 33 

atque abstinentiam in tanto viro referre, injuria virtu tivro 
fuerit. Ne famam quidem, cui saepe etiam boni indulgent, 
ostentanda virtute aut per artem quaesivit : procul ab 
aemulatione adversus collegas, procul a contentione ad- 
versus procuratores, et vincere inglorium, et atteri sor- 
didum arbitrabatur. Minus triennium in ea legatione 
detentus, ac statim ad spem consulatus revocatus est, 
comitante opinione, Britanniam ei provinciam dari: nullis 
in hoc suis sermonibus, sed quia par videbatur. Haud 
semper errat fama, aliquando et elegit. Consul egregiae 
turn spei filiara juveni mihi despondit, ac post consulatum 
collocavit; et statim BritanniaR praepositus est, adjecto 
pontificatus sacerdotio. 

X. Britanniae situm populosque, multis scriptoribus 
memoratos, non in comparationem curae ingeniive referam, 
sed quia turn primum perdomita est ; itaque, quae priores, 
nondum comperta, eloquentia percoluere, reru..i fide tra- 
dentur. Britannia insularum, quas Roraana notitia com- 
plectitur, maxima, spatio ac ccelo in orientem Germanise, 
in occidentem Hispaniae obtenditur : Gallis in meridiem 
etiam inspicitur : septemtrionalia ejus, nullis contra terris, 
vasto atque aperto mari pulsantur. Formam totius Bri- 
tanniae Livius veterum, Fabius Rusticus recentium elo 
quentissimi auctores, oblongae scutulae vel bipenni as- 
similavere : et est ea facies citra Caledoniam, unde et in 
universum fama est transgressa : sed immensum et enorme 
spatium procurrentium extremo jam littore terrarum velut 
in cuneum tenuatur. Hanc oram novissimi maris tunc 
primum Romana classis circumvecta insulam esse Bri- 
tanniam affirmavit, ac simul incognitas ad id tempus in- 
sulas, quas Orcadas vocant, invenit domuitque. Dispecta 
est*et Thule, quam hactenus nix et hiems abdebat ; sed 
mare pigrum et grave remigantibus perhibent ne ventis 
quidem perinde attolli : credo, quod rariores terras mon- 
tesque, causa ac materia tempestatum, et profunda moles 

B 2 



34 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

continui maris tardius impellitur. Naturam oceani atque 
aestus neque quaerere hujus operis est, ac multi retulere: 
unum addiderim : nusquam latius dominari mare, multum 
tluminum hue atque illuc ferre,neclittore teni s accrescere 
aut resorberi, sed influere penitus atque ambire, et jugis 
etiam atque montibus inseri velut in suo. 

XI. Ceterum Britanniam qui mortales initio coluerint, 
sndigenae an advecti, ut inter barbaros, parum compertum. 
Habitus corporum varii : atque ex eo argumenta : namque 
rutilae Caledoniam habitantium comae, magni artus Ger- 
manicam originem asseverant. Silurum colorati vultus, et 
torti plerumque crines, et posita contra Hispania, Iberos 
veteres trajecisse easque sedes occupasse, fldem faciunt. 
Proximi Gallis et similes sunt, seu durante originis vi, seu 
procurrentibus in diversa terris positio coeli corporibus 
habitum dedit : in universum tamen aestimanti, Gallos 
vicinum solum occupasse, credibile est. Eorum sacra 
deprebendas superstitionum persuasione : sermo haud 
multum diversus : in deposcendis periculis eadem audacia, 
et, ubi advenere, in detrectandis eadem formido : plus 
tamen ferociae Britanni praeferunt, ut quos nondum longa 
pax emollierit. Nam Gallos quoque in bellis floruisse 
accepimus : mox segnitia cum otio intravit, amissa virtute 
pariter ac libertate. Quod Britannorum olim victis evenit ; 
ceteri manent quales Galli fuerunt. 

XII. In pedite robur : quaedam nationes et curru prceli- 
antur : honestior auriga, clientes propugnant : olim regi- 
bus parebant, nunc per principes factionibus et studiis 
trahuntur: nee aliud adversus validissimas gentes pro no- 
bis utilius, quam quod in commune non consulunt. Rarus 
duabus tribusque civitatibus ad propulsandum commune 
periculum conventus : ita, dum singuli pugnant, universi 
vincuntur. Ccelum crebris imbribus ac nebulis foedum ; 
asperitas frigorum abest. Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis 
^lensuram, et nox clara et extrema Britanniae parte bre- 



AGRICOLjE VITA. CAP. XII.-XIV. 3i* 

ris, ut finem atque initiura lucis exiguo-discrimine inter 
noscas. Quod si nubes non officiality adspici per noctcm 
soils Julgorem, nee occidere et exsurgere, sed transire affir- 
mant. Scilicet extrema et plana terrarum humili umbra 
non erigunt tenebras, infraque caelum et sidera nox cadit. 
Solum, praeter oleam vitemque et cetera calidioribus terris 
oriri sueta, patiens frugum, fecundum : tarde mitescunt, 
cito proveniunt: eadem utriusque rei causa, multus humor 
terrarum coelique. Fert Britannia aurum et argentum et 
alia metalla, pretium victoriae : gignit et oceanus margarita, 
sed subfusca et liventia. Quidam artem abesse legentibus 
arbitrantur: nam in rubro mari viva ac spirantia saxis 
avelli, in Britannia, prout expulsa sint, colligi : ego "faci- 
lius crediderim naturam margaritis deesse quam nobis 
avaritiam. 

XIII. Ipsi Britanni delectum ac tributa et injuncta im- 
perii munera impigre obeunt si injuriae absint : has aegre 
tolerant, jam domiti ut pareant, nondum ut serviant. 
Igitur primus omnium Romanorum divus Julius cum ex- 
ercitu Britanniam ingressus, quamquam prospera pugna 
terruerit incolas, ac littore potitus sit, potest videri osten- 
disse posteris, non tradidisse. Mox bell a civilia, et in 
rempublicam versa principum arma, ac longa oblivio 
Britanniae etiam in pace. Consilium id divus Augustus 
vocabat, Tiberius praeceptum. Agitasse C. Caesarem de 
intranda Britannia satis constat, ni velox ingenio, mobilis 
pcenitentia, et ingentes adversus Germaniam conatus 
frustra fuissent. Divus Claudius auctor operis, transvectis 
legionibus auxiliisque, et assumto in partem rerum Ves- 
^asiano: quod initium venturae mox fortunae fuit. Domitae 
gentes, capti reges, et monstratus fatis Yespasianus. 

XIV. Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, 
ac subinde Ostorius Scapula, uterque bello egregius : re- 
dactaque paulatim in formam provinciae proxima pars 
Britanniae : addita insuper veteranorum colonia. Quaedam 



36 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

civitates Cogicfuno regi donatse (is ad nostram usque 
memoriam fidissimus mansit) vetere ac jam pridem recepta 
Populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta sei- 
vitutis et reges. JVEox Didius Gallus parta a prioribus 
continuit, paucis admodum castellis in ulteriora promotis, 
per quae fama aucti officii qusereretur. Didium Veranius 
excepit, isque intra annum exstinctus est. Suetonius hinc 
Paulinus liiennio prosperas res habuit, subactis nationibus 
firmatisque praesidiis : quorum fiducia Monarn insulam, 
ut vires rebellibus ministrantem, aggressus, terga occasion! 
patefecit. 

XV. Namque absentia legati remoto metu, Britanni 
agitare inter se mala servitutis, conferre injurias et inter- 
pretando accendere : nihil projici patientia, nisi ut gra- 
viora, tamquam ex facili tolerantibus, imperentur. Sin- 
gulos sibi olim reges Juisse, nunc binos imponi, e quibus 
legatus in sanguinem, procurator in bona sceviret : ceque 
discordiam prcepositorum, ceque concordiam, subjectis ex- 
itiosam : alterius manus, centuriones alterius, vim et con- 
tumejias miscere. Nihil jam cupiditati, nihil libidinz 
exceptum. In praelio fortiorem esse, qui spoliet ; nunc ab 
ignavis plerumque et imbellibus eripi domos, abstrahi liberos, 
injungi delectus, tamquam mori tantum pro patria nescienti- 
bus. Quantum enim transisse militum, si sese Britanni 
numerentl sic Ger manias excussisse jugum, etjlumine, non 
oceano, defendi : sibi patriam, conjuges, parentes, illis ava- 
ritiam et luxuriam causas belli esse : recessuros, ut divus 
Julius recessisset, modo virtutes ?najorum suorum cemula- 
rentur. Neve proelii unius aut alterius eventu pavesccrent: 
plus impetus, major em constantiam, penes miser os esse. Jam 
Britannorum etiam deos misereri, qui Romanum ducem 
absentem, qui relegatum in alia insula exercitum detinerent: 
jam ipsos, quod difficillimum fuerit, deliberare : porrc 
in ejusmodi consiliis periculosius esse deprehendi, quam 
xudei'e. 



AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XVI.-XVII. 37 

XVI. His ataue talibus invicem instincti, Boaclicea, 
generis regii femina, duce (neque enim sexum in imperils 
discernunt) sumsere universi bellum : ac sparsos per 
castella milites consectati, expugnatis praesidiis, ipsam 
coloniam invasere, ut sedem servitutis : nee ullum in bar- 
baris saevitiae genus omisit ira et victoria. Quod nisi 
Paulinus cognito provinciae motu propere subvenisset, 
amissa Britannia foret : quam unius proelii fortuna veteri 
patientiae restituit, tenentibus arma plerisque, quos con- 
scientia defectionis et propius ex legato timor agitabat. 
Hie cum, egregius cetera, arroganter in deditos, et, ut 
suae quoque injuriae ultor, durius consuleret, missus Petro- 
nius Turpilianus, tamquam exorabilior, et delictis hostium 
novus eoque pcenitentiae mitior, compositis prioribus, nihil 
ultra ausus, Trebellio Maximo provinciam tradidit. Tre- 
bellius segnior, et nullis castrorum experimentis, comitate 
quadam curandi provinciam tenuit. Didicere jam barbari 
quoque ignoscere, vitiis blandientibus; et interventus civil- 
ium armorum praebuit justam segnitiae excusationem. 
Sed discordia laboratum, cum assuetus expeditionibus 
miles otio lasciviret. Trebellius, fuga ac latebris vitata 
exercitus ira, indecorus atque humilis, precario mox prae- 
fuit : ac velut pacti, exercitus licentiam, dux salutem, haec 
seditio sine sanguine stetit. Nee Vettius Bolanus, ma- 
nentibus adhuc civilibus bellis, agitavit Britanniam dis- 
ciplina : eadem inertia erga hostes, similis petulantia 
castrorum : nisi quod innocens Bolanus, et nullis delictis 
invisus, caritatem paraverat loco auctoritatis. 

XVII. Sed, ubi cum cetero orbe Vespasianus et Britan- 
niam reciperavit, magni duces, egregii exercitus, minuta 
hostium spes. Et terrorem statim intulit PetiliusCerealis, 
Brigantum civitatem, quae numerosissima provinciae totius 
perhibetur, aggressus : multa proelia, et aliquando non 
incruenta : magnamque Brigantum partem aut victoria 
araplexus, aut bello. Et cum Cerealis quidem alterius 



38 c. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

successoris curam famamque obruisset, sustinuit quoque 
molem Julius Frontinus, vir magnus, quantum licebat, 
validamque et pugnacem Silurum gentem armis subegit, 
super virtutem hostium loccrum quoque difficultates eluc- 
tatus. 

XVIII. Hunc Britanniae statum, has bellorum vices 
media jam gestate transgressus Agricola invenit, cum et 
milites, velut omissa expeditione, ad securitatem, et hostes 
ad occasionem, verterentur. Ordovicum civitas baud 
multo ante adventum ejus, alam, in finibus suis agentem, 
prope universam obtriverat : eoque initio erecta provin- 
cia, ut quibus bellum volentibus erat, probare exemplum 
aut recentis legati animum opperiri. Turn Agricola — 
quamquam transacta aestas, sparsi per provinciam numeri, 
praesumta apud militem illius anni quies (tarda et con- 
traria bellum inchoaturo), et plerisque custodiri suspecta 
potius videbatur — ire obviam discrimini statuit; con- 
tractisque legionum vexillis et modica auxiliorum maim, 
quia in aequum degredi Ordovices non audebant, ipse ante 
agmen, quo ceteris par animus simili periculo esset, erexit 
aciem; caesaque prope universa gente, non ignarus, in- 
standum famae, ac, prout prima cessissent, fore universa, 
Monam insulam (cujus possessione revocatum Paulinum 
rebellione totius Britanniae supra memoravi) redigere in 
potestatem animo intendit. Sed, ut in dubiis consiliis, 
naves deerant ; ratio et constantia ducis transvexit. De- 
positis omnibus sarcinis, lectissimos auxiliarium, quibus 
nota vada et patrius nandi usus, quo simul seque et arma 
et equos regunt, ita repente immisit, ut obstupefacti hostes, 
qui classem, qui naves, qui mare exspectabant, nihil ar- 
duum aut invictum crediderint sic ad bellum venientibus. 
Ita petita pace ac dedita insula, clarus ac magnus haberi 
Agricola, quippe cui ingredienti provinciam, quod tempus 
alii per ostentation em, aut officiorum ambitum transigunt, 
labor et periculum placuisset. Nee Agricola prosperitate 



AGRICOLiE VJTA. CAP. XVIII.-XX. 39 

rerum in vanitatem usus expeditionem aut victo/iam vo- 
cabat victos continuisse : ne laureatis qis dem gesta prose- 
cutus est, sed ipsa dissimulate one famae famam auxit, 
aestimantibus quanta futuri spe tarn magna tacuisset. 

XIX. Ceterum animorum provinciae prudens, simulque 
doctus per aliena experimenta, parum profici armis, si 
injuriae sequerentur, causas bellorum statuit excidere. A 
se suisque orsus, primum domum suam coercuit; quod 
plerisquehaud minus arduum est,quam provinciam regere. 
Nihil per libertos servosque publicae rei : non studiis pri- 
vatis, nee ex commendatione aut precibus centurionum 
milites ascire, sed optimum quemque fidelissimum putare : 
omnia scire, non omnia exsequi : parvis peccatis veniam, 
magnis severitatem commodare : nee poena semper, sed 
saepius poenitentia contentus esse : ofEciis et administra- 
tionibus potius non peccaturos praeponere, quam damnare 
cum peccassent. Frumenti et tributorum auctionem 
aequalitate munerum mollire, circumcisis quae in quaestum 
reperta ipso tributo gravius tolerabantur. Namque per 
ludibrium assidere clausis horreis, et emere ultro frumenta, 
ac vendere pretio cogebantur. Devortia itinerum et lon- 
ginquitas regionum indicebatur, ut civitates a proximis 
hibernis in remota et avia deferrent, donee, quod omnibus 
in promtu erat, paucis lucrosum fieret. 

XX. Haec primo statim anno comprimendo, egregiam 
famam paci circumdedit; quae vel incuria vel tolerantia 
priorum baud minus quam bellum timebatur. Sed, ubi aes- 
tas advenit, contracto exercitu, militum in agmine laudare 
modestiam, disjectos coercere, loca castris ipse capere, 
aestuaria ac silvas ipse praetentare, et nihil interim apud 
hostes quietum pati, quo minus subitis excursibus popu- 
laretur ; atque, ubi satis terruerat, parcendo rursus irrita- 
menta pacis ostentare. Quibus rebus multae civitates, 
quae in ilium diem ex aequo egerant, datis obsidibus, iram 
posuere, et praesidiis castellisque circumdatae tanta ratione 



40 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

curaque, ut nulla ante Britanniae nova pars illacessita 
transient. 

XXI. Seijuens hiems saluberrimis consiliis absumta : 
namque, ut homines dispersi ac rudes, eoque in bella fa- 
ciles, quieti et otio per voluptates assuescerent, hortari pri- 
vatim, adjuvare publice, ut templa, fora, domus exstrue- 
rent, laudando promtos, et castigando segnes : ita honoris 
aemulatio pro necessitate erat. Jam vero principum filios 
liberalibus artibus erudire, et ingeniaBritannorum studiis 
Gallorum anteferre, ut, qui modo linguam Romanam ab- 
nuebant, eloquentiam concupiscerent. Inde etiam habitus 
nostri honor et frequens toga : paulatimque discessum ad 
vlelinimenta vitiorum, porticus et balnea et conviviorum 
elegantiam : idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, 
cum pars servitutis esset. 

XXII. Tertius expeditionum annus novas gentes ape- 
ruit, vastatis usque ad Taum (aestuario nomen est) nation i- 
bus : qua formidine territi hostes, quamquam conflictatum 
saevis tempestatibus exercitum lacessere non ausi; ponen- 
disque insuper castellis spatium fuit. Adnotabant periti, 
non alium ducem opportunitates locorurn sapientius le- 
gisse ; nullum ab Agricola positum castellum aut vi hostium 
expugnatum, aut pactione ac fuga desertum. Crebrge 
eruptiones ; nam adversus moras obsidionis annuis copiis 
firmabantur. Ita intrepida ibi hiems, et sibi quisque 
praesidio, irritis hostibus eoque desperantibus, quia soliti 
plerumque damna aestatis hibernis eventibus pensare, turn 
aestate atque hieme juxta pellebantur. Nee Agricola 
umquam per alios gesta avidus intercepit : seu centurio, 
seu prasfectus, incorruptum facti testem habebat. Apud 
quosdam acerbior in conviciis narrabatur ; ut bonis comis 
erat, ita adversus malos injucundus: ceterum ex iracundia 
nihil supererat; secretum et silentium ejus non timeres 
Honestius putabat oftendere, quam odisse. 

XXIII. Quarta aestas obtinendis, quae percurrerat, in- 



, AGRICOLA VITA. CAP. XXIII.-XXV. 41 

surata; ac, si virtus exercituum et Romani nominis gloria 
pateretur, inventus in ipsa Britannia terminus. TSam 
Clota et Bodotria, diversi maris aestibus per immensura 
revectae, angusto terrarum spatio dirimuntur : quod turn 
praesidiis flrmabatur : atque omnis propior sinus tenebatur, 
summotis velut in aliam insulam hostibus. 

XXIV. Quinto expeditionum anno nave prima trans- 
gressus, ignotas ad id tempus gentes crebris simul ac 
prosperis prceliis domuit : eamque partem Britanniae, quae 
Hiberniam adspicit, copiis instruxit in spem magis, quam 
ob formidinem : siquidem Hibernia, medio inter Britan- 
niam atque Hispaniam sita et Gallico quoque mari oppor- 
tuna, valentissimam imperii partem magnis invicem usibus 
miseuerit. Spatium ejus, si Britanniae comparetur, an- 
gustius, nostri maris insulas superat. Solum coelumque 
et ingenia cultusque hominum haud multum a Britannia 
differunt. Melius aditus portusque per commercia et 
negotiatores cogniti. Agricola expulsum seditione do- 
mestica unum ex regulis gentis exceperat, ac specie 
amicitiae in occasionem retinebat. Saepe ex eo audivi, 
legione una et modicis auxiliis debellari obtinerique Hi- 
berniam posse. Idque etiam adversus Britanniam pro 
futurum, si Romana ubique arma, et velut e conspecti 
libertas tolleretur. 

XXV. Ceterum aestate, qua sextum officii annum in- 
choabat, amplexus civitates trans Bodotriam sitas, quia 
motus universarum ultra gentium et infesta hostili exercitu 
itinera timebantur, portus classe exploravit; quae, ab 
Agricola primum assumta in partem virium, sequebatur 
egregia specie, cum simul terra simul mari bellum impel- 
leretur, ac saepe iisdem castris pedes equesque et nauticus 
miles, mixti copiis et laetitia, sua quisque facta, suos casus 
attollerent; ac modo sil varum et montium profunda, modo 
tempestatum ac fluctuum adversa, bine terra et hostis, bine 
victus oceanus militari jactantia compararentur. Britan* 



42 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

nos quoque, ut ex captivis audiebatur, visa classis obstupe- 
faeiebat, tamquam aperto maris sui secreto ultimum victis 
perfugium clauderetur. Ad manus et arma conversi 
Caledoniam incolentes populi, paratu magno, majore fama 
(uti mos est de ignotis) oppugnasse ultro, castella adorti 
metum ut provocantes addiderant; regrediendumque citra 
Bodotriam, et excedendum potius quam pellerentur, specie 
prudentium ignavi admonebant; cum interim cognoscit, 
hostes pluribus agminibus irrupturos. Ac, ne superante 
numero et peritia locorum circumiretur, diviso et ipse in 
tres partes exercitu incessit. 

XXVI. Quod ubi cognitum hosti, mutato repente con- 
silio, universi nonam legionem, ut maxime invalidam, 
nocte aggressi, inter somnum ac trepidationem caesis vigili- 
bus, irrupere. Jamque in ipsis castris pugnabant, cum Ag- 
ricola, iter hostium ab exploratoribus edoctus et vestigiis 
insecutus, velocissimos equitum peditumque assultare ter- 
gis pugnantium jubet, mox ab universis adjici clamorem * 
et propinqua luce fulsere signa : ita ancipiti malo territi 
Britaimi ; et Romanis redit animus, ac, securi pro salute, 
de gloria certabant. Ultro quin etiam erupere ; et fuit 
atrox in ipsis portarum angustiis proelium, donee pulsi 
hostes ; utroque exercitu certante, his, ut tulisse opem, 
illis, ne eguisse auxilio viderentur. Quod nisi paludes et 
silvae fugientes texissent, debellatum ilia victoria foret. 

XXVII. Cujus constantia ac fama ferox exercitus, nihil 
virtuti suce invium ; penetrandam Caledoniam, invenien- 
dumque tandem Britannice terminum continuo prosliorum 
cursu, fremebant : atque illi modo cauti ac sapientes, 
promti post even turn ac magniloqui erant : iniquissiraa 
ha3c bellorum conditio est; prospera omnes sibi vindicant, 
adversa uni imputantur. At Britanni non virtute, sed 
occasione et arte ducis rati, nihil ex arrogantia remittere, 
quo minus juventutem armarert conjuges ac liberos in 
locatutatransferrent, coatibusac sacrificiis conspirationem 



AGRICOL^E VITA. CAP. XXVII.-XXIX. 43 

eivitatum sancirent : atque ita irritatis utrimque animis 
discessum. 

XXVIII. Eadem aestate cohors Usipiorum, per Germa- 
nias conscripta, et in Britanniam transmissa, magnum ac 
memorabile facinus ausa est. Occiso centurione ac militi- 
bus, qui, ad tradendam disciplinam immixti manipulis, 
exemplum et rectores habebantur, tres liburnicas adactis 
per vim gubernatoribus ascendere : et uno remigrante, 
suspectis duobus eoqueinterfectis,nondum vulgato rumore, 
ut miraculum, praevehebantur. Mox hac atque ilia rapti, 
et cum plerisque Britannorum sua defensantium prcelio 
congressi, ac ssepe victores, aliquando pulsi, eo ad ex- 
tremum inopise venere, ut infirmissimos suorum, mox sorte 
ductos, vescerentur. Atque ita circumvecti Britanniam, 
amissis per inscitiam regendi navibus, pro praedonibus 
habiti, primum a Suevis, mox a Frisiis intercepti sunt : ac 
fuere, quos per commercia venumdatos, et in nostram usque 
ripam mutatione ementium adductos, indicium tanti casus 
illustravit. 

XXIX. Initio eestatis Agricola, domestico vulnere ictus, 
anno ante natum filium amisit. Quern casum neque, ut 
plerique fortium virorum, ambitiose, neque per lamenta 
rursus ac mcerorem muliebriter tulit ; et in luctu bellum 
inter remedia erat. Igitur praemissa classe, quae pluribus 
locis praedata magnum et incertum terrorem faceret, ex- 
pedito exercitu, cui ex Britannis fortissimos et longa pace 
exploratos addiderat, ad montem Grampium pervenit, 
quern jam hostes insederant. Nam Britanni, nihil fracti 
pugnae prioris eventu, et ultionem aut servitium exspec- 
tantes, tandemque docti commune periculum concordia 
propulsandum, legationibus et fcederibus omnium eivita- 
tum vires exciverant. Jamque super triginta millia arma- 
torum aspiciebantur, et adhuc affluebat omnis juventus, 
et quibus cruda ac viridis senectus, clari bello, ac sua 
qui3que decora gestantes cum inter plures duces virtute 






Ill 

44 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS 

et genere praeslans, nomine Oalgacus, apud contractam 
multitudinem, proelium poscentem, in hunc raodum locu- 
tus fertur : — 

XXX. Quotiens causas belli et necessitatem nostram in* 
tueor, magnus mihi animus est, hodiernum diem consensum* 
que vestrum initium libertatis totius Britannia fore. Nam 
et universi servitutis expertes, et nullce ultra terra, ac ne 
mare quidem securum, imminente nobis classe Romana : ita 
pralium atque arma, quafortibus honesta, eadem etiam ig* 
navis tutissima sunt. Prior es pugna, quibus adversus Ro- 
manos varia fortuna certatum est, spem ac subsidium in 
nostris manibus habebant : quia nobilissimi totius Britan- 
nice, eoque in ipsis penetralibus siti, nee servientium littora 
aspicientes, oculos quoque a contactu dominationis inviola- 
tos habebamus. Nos, terrarum ac libertatis extremos, re* 
cessus ipse ac sinus Jama in hunc diem defendit : nunc 
terminus Britannia patet ; atque omne ignotum pro mag- 
nijico est. Sed nulla jam ultra gens, nihil nisi fiuctus et 
saxa : et infestiores Romani ; quorum superbiam frustra 
'per obsequium et modestiam effugeris. Raptores orbis, 
postquam cuncta vastantibus defuere terra, et mare scru- 
tantur : si locuples hostis est, avari ; si pauper, ambitiosi : 
quos non Oriens, non Occidens satiaverit : soli omnium opes 
atque inopiam pari ajfectu concupiscunt. Auferre, truci* 
dare, rapere,falsis nominibus imperium ; atque, ubi solitu- 
dinemfaciunt, pacem appellant. 

XXXI. Liberos cuique ac propinquos suos natura caris- 
nmos esse voluit: hi per delectus, alibi servituri, auferuntu*. 
Conjuges sororesque, etsi hostilem libidinem effugiant, no- 
mine amicorum atque hospitum polluuntur. Bona fortu- 
nasque in tributum egerunt^ annos in frumentum : corpora 
ipsa ac manus, silvis ac paludibus emuniendis, verbera inter 
ac contumelias, conterunt. Nata servituti mancipia semel 
veneunt, atque ultro a dominis aluntur : Britannia scr villi- 
tern suam quotidie emit, quotidie pascit. Ac,sicut in f ami' 



AGEICOL^l VITA. CAP. XXXI.-XXXIJ. 45 

%a recentissimus quisque servorum et conservis luoibrio est; 
sic, in hoc orbis terrarum vetere famulatu, novi ?ios et viles 
in excidium fetimur. Neque enim arva nobis, aut metalla, 
aut portus sunt, quibus exercendis reservemur. Virtus por- 
ro acferocia subjectorum ingrata imperantibus : et longin 
quitas ac secretum ipsum quo tutius, eo suspectius. Ita^ 
sublata spe Venice, tandem sumite animum, tarn quibus 
salus, quam quibus gloria carissima est. Brigantes femina 
duce exurere coloniam, expugnare castra, ac nisi felicitas in 
socordiam vertisset, exuere jugum potuere : nos integri et in- 
domiti, et libertatem nort in prasentia laturi, primo statim 
congressu rton ostendamus quos sibi Caledonia viros sepo- 
suerit ? 

XXXII. An eandem Romanis in bello virtutem, quam 
in pace lasciviam, adesse creditis ? Nostris illi discessioni- 
bus ac discordiis clari, vitia Jwstium in gloriam exercitus 
sui vertunt ; quern contractum ex diversissimis gentibus, ut 
secunda? res tenent, ita adverse dissolvent; nisi si Gallos 
et Germanos et (pudet dictuj Britannorum plerosqjjie, licet 
dominationi aliena sanguinem commodent, diutius tamen 
hostes quam servos, fide et affectu teneri putatis : metus et 
terror est, infirma vincula caritatis; qum ubi removeris, 
qui timere desierint, odisse incipient. Omnia victoria in- 
citamenta pro nobis sunt: nulla Romanos conjuges ac- 
cendunt; nulli parentes fugam exprobraturi sunt ; aut nulla 
plerisque patria, aut alia est: paucos numero, circum trepi- 
dos ignorantia, cadum ipsum ac mare et silvas, ignota om- 
nia circumspectantes, clausos quodammodo ac vinctos dii 
nobis tradiderunt. Ne terreat vanus aspectus et auri Jul- 
gor atque argenti, quod neque tegit, neque vulnerat. In 
ipsa Jwstium acie inveniemus nostras manus : agnoscent 
Britanni suam causam : recordabuntur Galli priorem liber- 
tatem : deserent illos ceteri Germani, tamquam nuper Usipii 
reliquerunt. Nee quid quam ultra formidinis : vacua cas- 
tella, senum colonial, inter male parentes et injuste impe* 



46 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

rantes cegra municipia et discordantia. Hie dux, hie ex- 
ercitus : ibi tributa et metaUa et ceterce servicntium pamce ; 
quas in ceternum perferre, aut statim ulcisci in hoc campo 
est. Proinde\ % ituri in aciem, et major es vestros et poster os 
cogitate. 

XXXIII. Ex.cepere orationem alacres et barbari moris 
cantu et fremiti? clamoribusque dissonis. Jamque agmi- 
na,et armorum iulgores audentissimi cujusque procursu : 
simul instruebatur acies ; cum Agricola, quamquam Isetum 
et vix munimentis coercitum militem adhortatus, ita dis- 
seruit : Octavus annus est, commilitones, ex quo virtute et 
auspiciis imperii Romani fide atque opera vestra Britan- 
niam vicistis. Tot expeditionibus, tot prceliis, seu fortitu- 
dine adversus hostes, seu patientia ac labore pcene adversus 
ipsam rerum naturam opus fait. Neque me militum, neque 
vos ducis poenituit. Ergo egressi, ego veterum legatorum, 
vos priorum exercituum terminos, finem Britannice, non 
Jama, nee rumor e, sed castris et armis tenemus. Inventa 
Britannia, et subacta. Equidem sape in agminc, cum vos 

' paludes montesve et fiumina fatigarent, fortissimi cujusque 
voces audiebam, Quando dabitur hostis, quando acies % 
Veniunt, e latebris suis extrusi; et vota virtusque in aperto, 
omniaque prona victoribus, atque eadem victis adversa. 
Nam, ut superasse tantum itineris, silvas evasisse, transisse 
cestuaria , pulchrum ac decorum infrontem; ita fugientibus 
periculosissima, qum ho die prosperrima sunt. Neque enim 
nobis aut locorum eadem notitia aut commeatuum eadem 
abundantia ; sed manus et arma et in his omnia. Quod 
ad me attinet, jam pridem mihi decretum est, neque cxerci- 
tus, neque ducis terga tuta esse. Proinde et honesta mors 
turpi vita potior ; et incolumitas ac decus eodem loco sit a 
sunt : nee inglorium fuerit in ipso terrarum ac natural fine 
cecidisse. 

XXXIV. Si novm gentes atque ignota acies constitisset, 
aliorum exercituum exemplis vos hortarer: nunc vestra dc* 



AGRIC0LJ8 VITA. CAP. XXXIV.-XXXVI. 47 

:ora recensete, vestros oculos interrogate. li sunt, quos 
proximo anno, unam legionemfurto noctis aggressos, clamor e 
debellastis : ii ceterorum Britannorum fugacissimi, ideoque 
tarn diu sujjerstites. Quomodo silvas saltusque penetrants 
bus fortissimum quodque animal robore, pavida et inertia 
ipso agminis sono pelluntur , sic acerrimi Britannorum jam 
pridem ceciderunt: reliquus est numerus ignavorum et me- 
tuentium, quos quod tandem invenistis, non restiterunt, sed 
deprehensi sunt novissimi: ideo extremo metu corpora de- 
Jixere in his vestigiis, in quibus pulchram et spectabilem vie- 
toriam ederetis. Transigite cum expeditionibus : imponite 
quinquaginta annis magnum diem : approbate reipublicm 
nunquam exercitui imputari potuisse aut moras belli aut 
causas rebellandi. 

XXXV. Et alloquente adhuc Agricola militum ardor 
eminebat, et finem orationis ingens alacritas consecuta est, 
statimque ad arma discursum. Instinctos ruentesque ita 
disposuit, ut peditum auxilia, quae octo millia erant, me- 
diam aciem firmarent, equitum tria millia cornibus afFun- 
derentur : legiones pro vallo stetere, ingens victorias decus 
citra Romanum sanguinem bellanti, et auxilium si pelle- 
rentur. Britannorum acies, in speciem simul ac terrorem, 
editioribus locis constiterat ita, ut primum agmen aequo, 
ceteri per acclive jugum connexi velut insurgerent; media 
campi covinarius et eques strepitu ac discursu complebat. 
Turn Agricola, sup erant e hostium multitudine, veritus ne 
simul in frontem simul et latera suorum pugnaretur, di- 
ductis ordinibus, quamquam porrectior acies futura erat, 
et arcessendas pl§rique legiones admonebant, promtior in 
6pem et firmus adversis, dimisso equo pedes ante vexilla 
constitit. 

XXXVI. Ac primo congressu eminus certabatur : si 
mul constantia, simul arte Britanni, ingentibus gladiis et 
brevibus cetris, missilia nostrorum vitare, vel excutere, 
atque ipsi magnam vim telorum superfundere ; donee 



48 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

Agricola tres Batavorum cohortes ac Tungrorum duas co- 
hortatus est, ut rem ad mucrones ac manus adducerent : 
quod et ipsis vetustate militiae exercitatum, et hostibus in- 
habile, parva scuta et enormes gladios gerentibus : nam 
Britannorum gladii sine mucrone complexum armorum, 
et in arcto pugnam non tolerabant. Igitur, ut Batavi mis- 
cere ictus, ferire umbonibus, ora foedare, et stratis qui in 
aequo obstiterant, erigere in colles aciem coepere, ceteraa 
cohortes, aemulatione et impetu commixtae, proximos quos- 
que caedere: ac plerique semineces aut integri festinatione 
victoriae relinquebantur. Interim equitum turmae fugere, 
covinarii peditum se proelio miscuere : et, quamquam re- 
centem terrorem intulerant, densis tamen hostium agmini- 
bus et inaequalibus locis haerebant ; minimeque equestria 
ea pugnae facies erat, cum aegre diu stantes, simul equo- 
rum corporibus impellerentur, ac saepe vagi currus, exter- 
riti sine rectoribus equi, ut quemque formido tulerat, 
transversos aut obvios incursabant. 

XXXVII. Et Britanni, qui adhuc pugnae expertes 
sumraa collium insederant, et paucitatem nostrorum vacui 
spernebant, degredi paulatim et circumire terga vincen- 
tium coeperant; ni id ipsum veritus Agricola quattuoi 
equitum alas, ad subita belli retentas, venientibus opposu 
isset, quantoque ferocius accurrerant, tanto acrius pulsos 
in fugam disjecisset. Ita consilium Britannorum in ipsos 
versum; transvectaeque praecepto ducis a fronte pugnan- 
tium alae, aversam hostium aciem invasere. Turn vero 
patentibus locis grande et atrox spectaculum : sequi, vul- 
nerare capere, atque eosdem, oblatis ( aliis, trucidare. 
Jam hostium, prout cuique ingenium erat, catervae arma- 
torum paucioribus terga praestare, quidam inermes ultro 
ruere, ac se morti offerre. Passim arma et corpora et 
laceri artus et cruenta humus. Est aliquando etiam victis 
ira virtusque : postquam silvis appropinquarunt, collecti 
primos sequentium, incautos et locorum ignaros, circum 



AGRlCOLiE VITA. CAP. XXXVII.-XXXIX. 49 

veniebant. Quodni frequens ubique Agricola validas et 
expeditas cohortes, indaginis modo, et, sicubi arctiora 
erant, partem equitum, dimissis equis,simul rariores silvaa 
equitem persultare jussisset, acceptum aliquod vulnus per 
nimiam fiduciam foret. Ceterum, ubi compositos firmis 
ordinibus sequi rursus videre, in fugam versi, non agmini- 
bus ut prius, nee alius alium respectantes* ran et vitabundi 
invicem longinqua atque avia petiere. Finis sequendi 
nox et satietas fuit. Caesa hostium ad decern millia: nos- 
trorum trecenti sexaginta cecidere, in quis Aulus Atticus, 
praefectus cohortis, juvenili ardore et ferocia equi hostibus 
illatus. 

XXXVIII. Et nox quidem gaudio praedaque laeta vio 
toribus : Britanni palantes, mixtoque virorum mulierumque 
ploratu, trabere vulneratos, vocare integros, deserere do- 
mos ac per iram ultro incendere ; eligere latebras et sta- 
tim relinquere ; miscere invicem consilia aliqua, dein 
separare ; aliquando frangi aspectu pignorum suorum, 
saepius concitari : satisque constabat, saevisse quosdam in 
conjuges ac liberos, tamquam misererentur. Proximus 
dies faciem victoriae latius aperuit : vastum ubique silen- 
tium, secreti colles, fumantia procul tecta, nemo explora- 
toribus obvius : quibus in omnem partem dimissis, ubi 
incerta fugae vestigia neque usquam conglobari hostes 
compertum, et exacta jam aestate spargi bellum nequibat, 
in fines Horestorum exercitum deducit. Ibi acceptis ob- 
sidibus, praefecto classis circumvehi Britanniam prascepit: 
datae ad id vires, et praecesserat terror : ipse peditem 
atque equites lento itinere, quo novarum gentium animi 

psa transitus mora terrerentur, in bibernis locavit. Et 
^iraul classis secunda tempestate ac fama Trutulensem 
Dortum tenuit, unde proximo lateie Britanniae lecto omni 
-edierat. 

XXXIX. Hunc rerum cursum, quamquam nulla verbo- 
mra jactantia epistolis Agricolae auctum, ut Domitiano 

C 



50 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

moris erat, fronte laetus, pectore anxius excepit. Inerat 
conscientia, derisui fuisse nuper falsum e Germania tri- 
umphum, emtis per commercia, quorum habitus et crinea 
in captivorum speciem formarentur : at nunc veram mag- 
naraque victoriam, tot millibus hostium caesis, ingenti fama 
celebrari. Id sibi maxime formidolosum, privati hominis 
nomen supra principis attolli : frustra studia fori et civilium 
artium decus in silentium acta, si militarem gloriam alius 
occuparet : et cetera utcunque facilius dissimulari, ducis 
boni imperatoriam virtutem esse. Talibus curis exercitus, 
quodque saevaa cogitationis indicium erat, secreto suo 
satiatus, optimum in praesentia statuit reponere odium, 
donee impetus famae et favor exercitus languesceret: nam 
etiam turn Agricola Britanniam obtinebat. 

XL. Igitur triumjphalia ornamenta et illustris statuce 
honor em et quidquid pro triumplio datur, multo verborum 
honore cumulata, decerni in senatu jubet : additque insuper 
opinionem, Syriam provinciam Agricolae destinari, vacuam 
turn morte Atilii Run, consularis, et majoribus reservatam. 
Credidere plerique, libertum ex secretioribus ministeriis 
missum ad Agricolam, codicillos, quijbus ei Syria dabatur, 
tulisse, cum praecepto, ut, si in Britannia foret, traderen- 
tur ; eumque libertum in ipso freto oceani obvium Agri- 
colas, ne appellate quidem eo, ad Domitianum remeasse; 
sive verum istud, sive ex ingenio principis fictum ac com- 
positum est. Tradiderat interim Agricola successori sue 
provinciam quietam tutamque. Ac, ne notabilis celebr- 
tate et frequentia occurrentium introitus esset, vitato 
amicorum officio, noctu in urbem, noctu in palatium, ita 
ut praeceptum erat, venit : exceptusque brevi osculo, el 
nullo sermone, turbae servientium immixtus est. Ceterum, 
ut militare nomen, grave inter otiosos, aliis virtutibus 
temperaret, tranquillitatem atque otium penitus auxit, 
cultu modicus, sermone facilis, uno aut altero amicorum 
comitatus : adeo ut plerique, quibus magnos viros pe* 



AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XL.-XLII. 51 

ambitionera aestimare mos est, viso aspectoque Agricola 
quaererent famara pauci interpretarentur. 

XLI. Crebro per eos dies apud Domitianum absens 
accusatus, absens absolutus est : causa periculi non crimen 
ullum, aut querela la3si cujusquam, sed infensus virtutibus 
princeps, et gloria viri, ac pessimum inimicorum genus, 
laudantes. Et ea insecuta sunt reipublicae tempora, quae 
sileri Agricolam non sinerent; tot exercitus in Mcesia 
Daciaque, Germania et Pannonia, temeritate aut per ig- 
naviara ducum amissi : tot militares viri cum tot cohortibus 
expugnati et capti ; nee jam de limite imperii et ripa, sed 
de hibernis legionum et possessione dubitatum. Ita, cum 
damna damnis continuarentur, atque omnis annus funeribus 
et cladibus insigniretur, poscebatur ore vulgi dux Agri- 
cola : comparantibus cunctis vigorem, constantiam, et ex- 
pertum bellis animum cum inertia et formidine reorum. 
Quibus sermonibus satis constat Domitiani quoque aures 
verberatas, dum optimus quisque libertorum amore et 
fide, pessimi malignitate et livore, pronum deterioribus 
principem exstimulabant. Sic Agricola simul suis vir- 
tutibus, simul vitiis aliorum, in ipsam gloriam praeceps 
agebatur. 

XLII. Aderat jam annus, quo proconsulatum Asiae et 
Africae sortiretur; et occiso Givica nuper, nee Agricolae 
consilium deerat, nee Domitiano exemplum. Accessere 
quidam cogitationum principis periti, qui, iturusne esset 
in provinciam, ultro Agricolam interrogarent: ac primo 
occultius quietem et otium laudare, mox operam suam in 
approbanda excusatione offerre : postremo non jam ob- 
scuri, suadentes simul terrentesque, pertraxere ad Domi- 
tianum. Qui paratus simul atione, in arrogantiam compo- 
situs, et audiit preces excusantis, et, cum adnuisset. agi 
sibi gratias passus est: nee erubuit beneficii nrvidia. Sa- 
larium tamen, proconsulari solitum offerri, et quibusdam a 
se ipso concessum, Agricolae non dedit : sive.offensus non 



52 C. CORNELIUS TACITU3. 

petitun, sive ex conscientia, ne, quod vetuerat, vicieretur 
emisse. Proprium humani ingenii est, odisse quem laese- 
ris : Domitiani vero natura praeceps in iram, et, quo ob- 
scurior, eo irrevocabilior, moderatione tamen prudentia- 
que Agricolae leniebatur : quia non contumacia neque 
inani jactatione libertatis, famam fatumque provocabat. 
Sciant, quibus moris est, illicita mirari, posse etiam sub 
raalis principibus magnos viros esse: obsequiumque ac 
modestiam, si industria ac vigor adsint, eo laudis excedere, 
quo plerique per abrupta, sed in nullum reipublicae usum, 
ambitiosa morte inclaruerunt. 

XLIII. Finis vitae ejus nobis luctuosus, amicis tristis, 
extraneis etiam ignotisque non sine cura fuit. Vulgus 
quoque, et hie aliud agens populus, et ventitavere ad do- 
mum, et per fora et circulos locuti sunt : nee quisquam, 
audita morte Agricolae, aut laetatus est aut statim oblitus 
est. Augebat miserationem constans rumor, veneno inter- 
ccptum. Nobis nihil comperti afhrmare ausim : ceterum 
per omnem valetudinem ejus, crebrius quam ex more 
principatus per nuntios visentis, et libertorum primi et 
medicorum intimi venere ; sive cura illud, sive inquisitio 
erat. Supremo quidem die, momenta deficientis per dis- 
positos cursores nuntiata constabat, nullo credente, sic ac- 
celerari quae tristis audiret. Speciem tamen doloris animo 
vultuque prae se tulit, securus jam odii, et qui facilius dis- 
simularet gaudium quam metura. Satis constabat, lecto 
testamento Agricolae, quo coheredem optimae uxori et 
piissimae filiae Domitianum scripsit, laetatum eum velut ho- 
nore judicioque : tam caeca et corrupta mens assiduis adu- 
lationibus erat, ut nesciret a bono patre non scribi here- 
dem nisi malum principem. 

XLIV. Natus erat Agricola Caio Caesare primum Con- 
sule Idibus Juniis : excessit sexto et quinquagesimo an- 
no, decimo Kalendas Septembris Collega Priscoque con- 
sulibus. Quodsi habitum quoque ejus posteri noscere 



AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XLIV.-XLV. 53 

felint ; decentior quam sublimior fuit : nihil metus in 
vultu ; gratia oris supererat : bonum virum facile crede- 
res, magnum libenter. Et ipse quidem, quamquam me 
dio in spatio integrae aetatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam 
longissimum aevum peregit. Quippe et vera bona, quee 
in virtutibus sita sunt, impleverat, et consularibus ac tri- 
umphalibus ornamentis praedito, quid aliud adstruere for- 
tuna poterat ? Opibus nimiis non gaudebat ; speciosae 
contigerant : filia atque uxore superstitibus, potest videri 
etiam beatus, incolumi dignitate, florente fama, sal vis 
affinitatibus et amicitiis, futura efFugisse. Nam, sicuti 
durare in hac beatissimi saeculi luce, ac principem Traja- 
num videre, augurio votisque apud nostras aures omina- 
batur, ita festinatae mortis grande solatium tulit, eva- 
sisse postremum illud tempus, quo Domitianus, non jam 
per intervalla ac spiramenta temporum, sed continuo el 
velut uno ictu, rempublicam exhausit. 

XL V. Non vidit Agricola obsessam curiam, et clausurc 
armis senatum, et eadem strage tot consularium caedes 
tot nobilissimarum feminarum exsilia et fugas. Una ad 
hue victoria Carus Metius censebatur, et intra Albanarr 
arcem sententia Messalini strepebat, et MassaBebius jan 
turn reus erat. Mox nostrae duxere Helvidium in carce 
rem manus : nos Maurici Rusticique visus, nos innocent 
sanguine Senecio perfudit. Nero tamen subtraxit oculos 
jussitque scelera, non spectavit : praecipua sub Domitianc 
miseriarum pars erat, videre et adspici, cum suspiria nostra 
subscriberentur, cum denotandis tot hominum palloribus 
sufficeret saevus ille vultus et rubor, quo se contra pudorem 
muniebat. Tu vero felix, Agricola, non vitse. tantum 
claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis. Ut perhibent, 
qui interfuerunt novissimis sermonibus tuis, constans et 
libens fatum excepisti ; tamquam pro virili portione inno- 
centiam pri/icipi donares. Sed mihi filiaeque, praeter 
acerbitatem parentis erepti, auget mcestitiam, quod assi 



54 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

dere valetudmi, fovere deficientem, satiari vultu, com- 
plexu, non contigit. Excepissemus certe mandata voces- 
que, quas penitus animo figeremus. Noster hie dolor, 
nostrum vulnus ; nobis tarn longae absentiae conditione 
ante quadriennium amissus es. Omnia sine dubio, optime 
parentum, assidente amantissima uxore, superfuere bonori 
tuo : paucioribus tamen lacrimis compositus es, et novis- 
sima in luce desideravere aliquid oculi tui. 

XLVL Si quis piorum manibus locus, si, ut sapientibua 
placet, non cum corpore exstinguuntur magnae anirnae, 
placide quiescas, nosque, domum tuam, ab infirmo desi* 
derio et muliebribus lamentis ad contemplationem virtu- 
tum tuarum voces, quas neque lugeri neque platigi fas 
est : admiratione te potius, et immortalibus laudibus, et, 
si natura suppeditet, aemulatu decoremus. Is verus honos, 
ea conjunctissimi cujusque pietas. Id filiae quoque uxori- 
que praeceperim, sic patris, sic mariti memoriam venerari, 
ut omnia facta dictaque ejus secum revolvant, famamque 
ac figuram animi magis quam corporis complectantur : 
non quia intercedendum putem imaginibus, quae marmore 
aut aere finguntur ; sed ut vultus hominum, ita simulacra 
vultus imbecilla ac mortalia sunt, forma mentis aeterna ; 
quam tenere et exprimere, non per alienam materiam et 
artem, sed tuis ipse moribus possis. Quidquid ex Agri- 
cola amavimus, quidquid mirati sumus, manet mansu- 
rumque est in an-imis hominum, in aeternitate temporum, 
fama rerum. Nam multos veterum, velut inglorios et 
ignobiles, oblivio obruet : Agricola, posteritati narratus et 
traditus, superstes erit. 



C. CORNELII TACITI 



ANNALIUM 



LIBER PRIMUS. 



C. CORNEL II TACIT I 

ANNALIUM 
LIBER PRIMUS. 



SUMMARY OF BOOK I. 
Chap. I.-V. Sketch of the history of Rome from its foundation to the death 
of Augustus. — Tiberius succeeds to the empire through the arts of his 
mother Livia. VI. Assassination of Postumus Agrippa. VII. Rome 
rushes into servitude. VIII. Will of Augustus read in the Senate. — 
Funeral honors of the deceased emperor. IX., X. Opinions of men 
respecting the character and actions of Augustus. XI. Dissimula- 
tion of Tiberius. — Pretends that he is unfit for the burden of empire. — 
The Senate, however, urge him to accept. — He orders a private account 
kept by Augustus, respecting the resources of the empire, to be pro- 
duced and read to the Senate. XII. Anger of Tiberius against Asinius, 
XIII. Offence given also by Arruntius, Haterius, and Scaurus. XIV 
Adulation of the Senate toward Livia. — Checked by Tiberius. XV 
Right of suffrage transferred from the people to the Senate. — Celebra 
tion of the Ludi Augustales. XVI. Revolt of three legions in Pan 
nonia. XVII. Seditious harangue of Percennius. XVIII. Excitement 
of the soldiery. — Blaesus the Roman commander strives to appease them, 
XIX. Embassy from the revolters to Tiberius. XX. Fresh outbreaks, 
XXI. Ineffectual attempts of Blaesus to check the disorder. XXII 
Blaesus narrowly escapes losing his life, in consequence of a false charge 
made by one Vibulenus. XXIII. The tribunes of the soldiers and the 
prefect of the camp driven out. — The centurion Lucilius slain. XXIV. 
Drusus sent by Tiberius to appease the revolt. XXV. Drusus reads to 
the soldiery a letter from Tiberius. XXVI. Tries to put off the de- 
mands of the revolters. XXVII. The confusion and disturbance in- 
crease. — Narrow escape of Lentulus. XXVIII. An eclipse of the moon 
alarms the revolters. — Drusus avails himself of the opportunity thus of- 
fered, and strives to bring back the troops to their duty by means of se- 
cret agents. XXIX. Address of Drusus to the soldiers. — Punishment 
of Vibulenus and Percennius. XXX. Other offenders punished. — The 
legions go into winter quarters. XXXI. A still more serious revolt of 
eight legions in Germany. XXXII. Cruelty toward their centurions — 
Bold conduct of Cassius Chaerea. XXXIII. Germanicus hastens from 
Gaul to appease the revolt XXXIV., XXXV. Addresses the disaf 
C 5> 



58 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

fected soldiery.— They make known their grievances. — Offer him the 
empire, which he indignantly refuses. XXXVI. Deliberations of the 
Roman military council respecting a remedy for these evils. XXXVII. 
The sedition is at length appeased. XXXVIII. Disturbances among 
the Vexillarii. — Checked by the firm conduct of Mennius. XXXIX. 
Another revolt, on the part of the troops among the U bii. — They threaten 
the life of Germanicus. — Narrow escape of Plancus. XL. Germanicus 
sends away his wife and young son from this scene of danger. XLI. 
Repentance of the soldiery. XLIL, XLIII. Speech of Germanicus. 
XLIV. Order restored. XLV. Preparations made against other re- 
volters. XL VI. Alarm at Rome in consequence of these disorders. 
XL VII. Tiberius secretly determines to remain at Rome. — He pre- 
tends, however, to be making preparations for a departure from the 
capital. XL VIII. Threats of Germanicus against the revolters. 
XL IX. The soldiers themselves inflict punishment on the offenders. 
L. The troops, as an atonement for their past conduct, march against 
the enemy. — Slaughter of the Marsi. LI. Destruction of the temple of 
Tanfana. — Excitement in consequence among the Germans. — An am- 
buscade laid for the Romans, but without success. LII. Disquiet of 
Tiberius at the popularity of Germanicus with the soldiery. LIII. 
Death and character of Julia, the daughter of Augustus. — Crassus put 
to death. LIV. Priesthood of the Sodales Augustales established. LV 
Germanicus makes a sudden incursion into the territory of the Catti. — 
Arminius. — Segestes. L VI. The Catti overpowered. — Mattium burned. 
LVIL Germanicus liberates Segestes, who was held in a state of siege 
by his own countrymen. — The wife of Arminius taken. LVIII. Speech 
of Segestes. — Kind treatment by the Romans. — Germanicus receives 
the title of Imperator from Tiberius. LIX. Arminius inveighs against 
Segestes and the Romans. LX. The Cherusci and other communities 
revolt. — The Bructeri routed. LXI. Germanicus visits with his army 
the scene of the overthrow of Varus. LXII. Interment given to the 
remains of the slain. — Tiberius blames this proceeding. LX1II. Battle 
with Arminius. LXIV. The Germans attack Caecina in a situation un. 
favorable for him. LXV. Consternation of the Roman soldiers. — Ill- 
omened dream of Caecina. — The Romans nearly defeated. LXVI. 
Panic and terror in the Roman camp. LXVII. Resolution of Crecina to 
retreat to the Rhine. L XVIII. Successful sally. — Slaughter of the 
Germans. LXIX. Spirited conduct of Agrippina during the alarm on 
the German frontiers. — Tiberius takes offence at this. LXX. Roman 
legions narrowly escape shipwreck. LXXI. Segimerus received into 
surrender. LXXII. Feigned moderation of Tiberius in refusing the 
title of Pater PatriaB. — The Lex Lsesae Majestatis revised. LXXIII. 
Accusations under this law. LXXIV. Marcellus accused under it. 
LXXV. Liberality of Tiberius. LXXVI. Inundation of the Tiber.— 
Achaia and Macedonia relieved. — Public spectacles exhibited by Drusus. 
LXXVII. Theatrical factions checked. LXXVIII. Temple erected 



AXNALIL'M LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. I.-II. 59 

to Augustus in Spain. — The impost termed Centesima. LXXIX. De* 
liberations of the Senate respecting the cutting of certain feeders of the 
Tiber, in order to check inundations for the future. LXXX. Why 
Tiberius seldom changed his generals, or g-overnors of provinces. 
1 XXXI. Consular comitia. 

These events embrace a period of nearly two years 

A.U.C. ' JLD. Conaak. 

DCCLXVII. 14. ! eStUS P° m Pf ills ' I 

feextus Appuleius. ) 

C. Xorbanus Flaccus. > 

I. Urbem Rom am a principio reges habuere. Liber- 
tatem et consulatum L. Brutus instituit. Dictaturae ad 

tempus sumebantur : neque decemviralis potestas ultra 
biennium, neque tribunorum militum consulare jus diu 
valuit. Non Cinnae, non Sullee longa dominatio ; et Pom- 
peii Crassique potentia cito in Caesarem, Lepidi atque 
Antonii arma in Augustum cessere ; qui cuncta discordiis 
civilibus fessa nomine princijns sub imperium accepit. 
Sed veteris populi Romani prospera vel adversa claris 
scriptoribus memorata sunt ; temporibusque Augusti di- 
cendis non defuere decora ingenia, donee gliscente adu 
latione deterrerentur. Tiberii Caiique et Claudii ac 
Neronis res, norentibus ipsis, ob metum falsae ; postquam 
occiderant, recentibus odiis compositae sunt. Inde consil- 
ium mihi pauca de Augusto et extrema tradere, mox 
Tiberii principatum et cetera, sine ira et studio, quorum 
causas procul habeo. 

II. Postquam, Bruto et Cassio cassis, nulla jam publica 
arma, Pompeius apud Siciliam oppressus, exutoque Le- 
pido, interfecto Antonio, ne Julianis quidem partibus nisi 
Caesar dux reliquus, posito triumviri nomine, consulem se 
ferens, et ad tuendam plebem tribunicio jure contentum ; 
ubi militem donis, populum annona. cunctos dulcedine 
otii pellexit, insurgere paulatim, munia senatus, magistra- 
tuum, legum in se trahere, nullo adversaute ; cum ferocis- 
simi per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri nobib 



t>0 G CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

ium, quail to quis servitio promtior, opibus et honoribus 
extollerentur, ac novis ex rebus aucti tuta et praesentia 
quam Vetera et periculosa mallent. Neque provincial il- 
ium rerum statum abnuebant, suspecto senatus populique 
imperio ob certamina potentium et avaritiam magistra- 
tuum ; invalido legum auxilio, quae vi, ambitu, postremo 
pecunia turbabantur. 

III. Ceterum Augustus, subsidia dominatiohi, Clau- 
dium Marcellum, sororis filium, admodum adolescentem, 
pontificatu et curuli aedilitate ; Marcum Agrippam, igno- 
bilem loco, bonum militia et victoriae socium, geminatis 
consulatibus extulit, mox, defuncto Marcello, generum 
sumsit ; Tiberium Neronem et Claudium Drusum, pri- 
vignos, imperatoriis nominibus auxit, integra etiam turn 
domo sua. Nam genitos Agrippa, Caium ac Lucium, in 
familiam Caesarum induxerat ; necdum posita puerili 
praetexta, principes juventutis appellari, destinari consul es, 
specie recusantis flagrantissime cupiverat. Ut Agrippa 
vita concessit, Lucium Caesarem euntem ad Hispanienses 
exercitus, Caium remeantem Armenia et vulnere invali- 
dum mors fato propera vel novercse Liviae dolus abstulit ; 
Drusoque pridem exstincto, Nero solus e privignis erat, 
illuc cuncta vergere : filius, collega imperii, consors tri- 
buniciae potestatis assumitur, omnisque per exercitus os- 
tentatur ; non obscuris, ut antea, matris artibus, sed palam 
hortatu. Nam senem Augustum devinxerat adeo, uti ne- 
potem unicum, Agrippam Postumum, in insulam Plana- 
siam projiceret, rudem sane bonarum artium et robore 
corporis stolide ferocem, nullius tamen flagitii compertum. 
At hercule Germanicum, Druso ortum, octo apud Rhenum 
legionibus imposuit, adscirique per adoptionem a Tiberio 
jussit ; quamquam esset in domo Tiberii filius juvenis ; 
sed quo pluribus munimentis insisteret. Bellum ea tem- 
pestate nullum, nisi adversus Germanos, supererat ; abo- 
lendae ma^is infamiae ob amissum cum Quinctilio Varo 



ANNAL1UM LIBER PRIMUS CAP. 111.— V. 61 

exercitum, quam cupidine proferendi imperii aut dignum 
ob praemium. Domi res tranquillae ; eadera magistratuam 
vocabula : juniores post Actiacam victoriam, etiam senes 
plerique inter bella civium nati : quotusquisque reliquus 
qui rem publicam vidisset ] 

IV. Igitur, verso civitatis statu, nihil usquam prisci et 
integri moris : omnes, exuta aequalitate, jussa principis as- 
pectare ; nulla in praesens formidine, dum Augustus aetate 
validus seque et domum et pacem sustentavit. Postquam 
provecta jam senectus aegro et corpore fatigabatur, aderat- 
que finis et spes novae, pauci bona libertatis incassum dis- 
serere, plures bellum pavescere, alii cupere : pars multo 
maxima imminentes dominos variis rumoribus difFerebant : 
trucem Agrippam et ignominia accensum non cetate nequc 
rerum cxperientia tantce, moli parem : Tiberium Neronem 
maturum annis, spectatum bello, sed vetere atque insita 
Claudice families superbia ; multaque indicia scevitice, 
quamquam premantur, erumpere. Hunc et prima ab in- 
fantia eductum in domo regnatrice ; congestos juveni consu- 
lates, triumphos; ne iis quidem annis, quibus Rhodi specie 
secessus exsulem egerit, aliquid quam iram et simulationem 
et seer etas libidines meditatum. Accedere matrem mulie- 
bri impotentia : serviendumfemina, duobusque insuper ado- 
lescentibus, qui rem publicam interim premant, quandoque 
distrahant. 

V. Haec atque talia agitantibus gravescere valetudo 
Augusti; et quidam scelus uxoris suspectabant. Quippe 
rumor incesserat, paucos ante menses Augustum, electis 
consciis et comite uno, Fabio Maximo, Planasiam vectum 
ad visendum Agrippam ; multas illic utrimque lacrimas 
et sign a caritatis, spemque ex eo fore ut juvenis pen air- 
bus avi redderetur : quod Maximum uxori Marciae ape- 
ruisse, illam Liviae: gnarum id Caesari: neque multo post 
exstincto Maximo (dubium an quaesita morte), auditos in 
funere ejus Marciae gemitus semet incusantis, quod causa 



62 C CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

exitii marito fuisset. Utcumque se ea res habuit, vixdum 
ingressus lllyricum Tiberius properis matris Uteris acci- 
tur: neque satis compertum est, spirantem adhxc Augus- 
tum apud urbem Nolam an exanimem reppererit : acribus 
namque custodiis domum et vias sepserat Livia ; laetique 
interdum nuntii vulgabantur, donee provisis quae tempus 
monebat, simul excessisse Augustum et rerum potiri Ne- 
ronem fama eadem tulit. 

VI. Primum facinus novi principatus fuit Postumi 
^grippae caedes, quern ignarum inermumque, quamvis fir- 
.natus animo, centurio aegre confecit. Nihil de ea re Ti- 
berius apud senatum disseruit : patris jussa simulabat, 
quibus prasscripsisset tribuno custodiae apposito, ne cunc- 
taretur Agrippam morte afficere, quandoque ipse supremum 
diem explevisset. Multa sine dubio sasvaque Augustus de 
moribus adolescentis questus, ut exsilium ejus senatus- 
consulto sanciretur perfecerat : ceterum in nullius unquam 
suorum necem duravit, neque mortem nepoti pro securi- 
tate privigni illatam credibile erat : propius vero, Tibe- 
rium ac Liviam, ilium metu, hanc novercalibus odiis, sus- 
pecti et invisi juvenis caedem festinavisse. Nuntianti 
centurioni, ut mos militiae, factum esse, quod imperasset, 
neque imperasse sese et rationem facti reddendam apud se- 
natum, respondit. Quod postquam Sallustius Crispus par- 
ticeps secretorum (is ad tribunum miserat codicillos) com- 
perit, metuens ne reus subderetur, juxta periculoso, ficta 
seu vera prorneret, monuit Liviam, ne arcana domus, ne 
consilia amicorum, ministeria militum vulgarentur : neve 
Tiberius vim principatus resolverit cuncta ads senatum vo- 
cando : earn conditionem esse imperandi, ut non aliter ratio 
constet quam si uni reddatur. 

VII. At Romae ruere in servitium consules, patres, 
eques : quanto quis illustrior, tanto magis falsi ac festi- 
nantes, vultuque composito, ne laeti excessu priucipis, neu 
mstiores primordio, lacrimas, gaudium, questus, adula 



AX X ALII M LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. VII.— VIII. G3 

tionem miscebant. Sextus Pompeius et Sextus Appuleius 
Consules primi in verba Tiberii Caesaris juravere : apud- 
que eos Seius Strabo et Caius Turranius, ille praetoriarum 
cohortium praefectus, hie annonae : mox senatus, milesque 
et populus. Nam Tiberius cuncta per consules incipie- 
bat, taraquam vetere re publica et ambiguus imperandi. 
Ne edictum quidem, quo patres in curiam vocabat, nisi 
tribuniciae potestatis praescriptione posuit sub Augusto ac- 
cepts : verba edicti fuere pauca et sensu permodesto : 
de honoribus parentis consulturum ; neqiie abscedere a cor- 
fore ; idque unum ex publicis muneribus usurpare. Sed 
defuncto Augusto signum praetoriis cohortibus ut impera- 
tor dederat; excubiae, arma, cetera aulae ; miles in forum, 
miles in curiam comitabatur : literas ad exercitus tam- 
quam adepto principatu misit, nusquam cunctabundus, nisi 
cum in senatu loqueretur. Causa praecipua ex formidine, 
ne Germanicus, in cujus manu tot legiones, immensa 
sociorum auxilia, mirus apud populum favor, habere im- 
perium quam exspectare mallet. Dabat et famae, ut vo- 
catus electusque potius a re publica videretur, quam per 
uxorium ambitum et senili adoptione irrepsisse. Postea 
cognitum est, ad introspiciendas etiam procerum volun- 
tates inductam dubitationem : nam verba, vultus, in cri- 
men detorquens, recondebat. 

VIII. Nihil primo senatus die agi passus nisi de su- 
premis Augusti; cujus testamentum, illatum per virgines 
Vestae, Tiberium et Liviam heredes habuit. Livia in 
familiam Juliam nomenque Augustas assumebatur, in 
spem secundam, nepotes pronepotesque ; tertio gradu 
primores civitatis scripserat, plerosque invisos sibi, sed 
jactantia gloriaque ad posteros. Legata non ultra civilem 
modum, nisi quod populo et plebi quadringenties tricies 
quinquies, praetoriarum cohortium militibus singula num- 
mum millia, legionariis trecenos, cohortibus civium Roma- 
norum quingenos numraos viritim dedit. Turn consulta- 



64 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

turn de honoril ms ; ex quis maxime insignes visi : ut po? ta 
triumphali duceretur funics, Gallus Asinius ; ut legum lata* 
rum tituli, victarum ab eo gentium vocabula anteferrentur, 
L. Arruntius censuere : addebat Messala Valerius, reno- 
vandum per annos sacramentum in nomen Tiberii : inter- 
rogatusque a Tiberio, num se mandante earn sententiam 
p?'omsisset, sponte dixisse, respondit, neque in Us, quce ad 
rem publicam pertinerent, consilzs nisi suo usurum, vel cum 
periculo qffensionis : ea sola species adulandi supererat. 
Conclamant patres, corpus ad rogum humeris senatorum 
ferendum. Remisit Caesar arroganti moderatione ; popu- 
lumque edicto monuit, ne, ut quondam nimiis studiisfunus 
divi Julii turbassent, ita Augustum in foro potius quam in 
campo Martis, sede destinata, cremari vellent. Die funeris 
milites velut praesidio stetere, multum irridentibus qui ipsi 
viderant quique a parentibus acceperant diem ilium crudi 
adhuc servitii et libertatis improspere repetitas, cum oc- 
cisus dictator Caesar aliis pessimum, aliis pulcherrimum 
facinus videretur : nunc senem principera, longa potentia, 
provisis etiam heredum in rem publicam opibus, auxilio 
scilicet militari tuendum, ut sepultura ejus quieta foret. 

IX. Multus hinc ipso de Augusto sermo, plerisque vana 
mirantibus : quod idem dies accepti quondam imperii prin+ 
ceps et vita supremus ; quod Nolce in domo et cubiculo, in 
quo pater ejus Octavius, vitam jinivisset : numerus etiam 
consulatuum celebrabatur, quo Valerium Corvum et C. Ma- 
rium simul aquaverat ; continuata per septem et triginta 
annos tribunicia potestas ; nomen imperatoris semel atque 
vicies partum ; aliaque honorum multiplicata aut nova. 
At apud prudentes vita ejus varie extollebatur argueba- 
turve. Hi, pietate e?ga parentem et necessitudine rei 
publicce, in qua nullus tunc legibus locus, ad arma civilia 
actum, quce neque parari possent neque haberi per bonas 
artes : multa Antonio, dum interfectorcs patris ulcisceretur, 
tnulta Lepido concessisse : post quam, hie socordia senuerit. 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. IX. -X. ()5 

tile per libidines pessum datus sit, non aliud discordantis 
patriot remedium fuisse quarh ut ab uno regeretur. Non 
regno tamen neque dictatura, sed p>rincipis nomine const itu- 
tarn rem publicam : mari oceano aut amnibus longinquis 
septum imperium : legiones, provincias, classes, cuncta inter 
se connexa : jus apud cives, modestiam apud socios : urbem 
ipsam magnifico ornatu ; pauca admodum vi tractata, quo 
ceteris quies esset. 

X. Dicebatur contra, pietatem erga parentem et tempora 
rei publicce obtentui sumta : ceterum cupidine dominandi 
concitos per largitionem veteranos, paratum ab adolescente 
privato exercitum, corruptas consulis legiones, simulatam 
Pompeianarum gratiam partium ; mox ubi decreto patrum 
fasces et jus pr&toris invaserit, cassis Hirtio et Pansa (sivt 
hostis illos, seu Pansam venenum vulneri affusum, sui mi- 
Hies Hirtium et macliinator doli Caisar abstulerat), utrius- 
fue copias occupavisse : extortum invito senatu consulatum, 
armaque quce in Antonium acceperit, contra rem publicam 
versa ; proscriptionem civium, divisiones agforum, ne ipsis 
quidem qui fecere laudatas. Sane Cassii et Brutorum ex- 
itus paternis inimicitiis datos (quamquam fas sit privata 
odia publicis utilitatibus r emitter e) ; sed Pompeium imagine 
pads, sed Lepidum specie amicitiai deceptos : post Antonium, 
Tarentino Brundisino que feeder e et nuptiis sororis illectum, 
subdolce affnitatis poenas morte exsolvisse. Pacejn sine du~ 
bio post haic, verum cruentam : Lollianas, Varianasque 
clades ; interfectos Roma Varrones, Egnaiios, Iulos. Nee 
domesticis abstinebatur. Abducta Neroni uxor, et consulti 
per ludibrium pontijices, an concepto necdum edito partu 
rite nuberet : Q. Tedii et Vedii Pollionis luxus : postremo 
Livia, gravis in rem publicam mater, gravis domui Ccesa- 
rum noverca. Nihil deorum honoribus relictum, cum se 
templis et effigie nu?ni?ium per famines et sacerdotes coYi 
vellet. Ne Tib erium quidem caritate aut rei publicce cura 
successor em ascitum : sed quoniam arrogantiam sa'vitiam 



66 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 



que ejus introspexerit, comparatione determma sibi gioriam 
qucesivisse. Etenim Augustus, paucis ante annis. cum 
Tiberio tribuniciam potestatem a patribus rursum postu- 
laret, quamquam honora oratione, quaedam de babitu cul- 
tuque et institutis ejus jecerat, quae velut excusando ex- 
probraret. 

XI. Ceterum, sepultura more perfecta, templum et cce- 
lestes religiones decernuntur. Versae inde ad Tiberium 
oreces. Et ille varie disserebat, de magnitudine imperii, 
sua modestia ; solam divi Augusti mentem tantce molis ca- 
pace7n ; se in partem curarum ab illo vocatum experiendo 
didicisse, quam arduum, quam subjectum fortunes regendi 
cuncta onus ; proinde in civitate tot illustrious viris sub- 
nixa non ad unum omnia deferrent : plures facilius munia 
rei publicce sociatis laboribus exsecuturos, Plus in oratione 
tali dignitatis quam fidei erat : Tiberioque etiam in rebus, 
;juas non occuleret, seu natura sive a,ssuetudine, suspensa 
semper et obscura verba ; tunc vero nitenti ut sensus suos 
penitus abderetfin incertum et ambiguum magis implica- 
bantur. At patres, quibus unus metus, si intelligere vi- 
derentur, in questus, lacrimas, vota effundi ; ad deos, ad 
effigiem Augusti, ad genua ipsius manus tendere, cum 
proferri libellum recitarique jussit. Opes pubiicae conti- 
nebantur : quantum civium sociorumque in armis, quot 
classes, regna, provinciae, tributa aut vectigalia, et neces- 
sitates ac largitiones : quae cuncta sua manu perscripserat 
Augustus, addideratque consilium coercendi intra termi- 
nos imperii, incertum metu an per invidiam. 

XII. Inter quae senatu adinfimas obtestation es procum 
bente, dixit forte Tiberius se, ut non toti rei jiublicce jmrcm, 
ita } quacumque pars sibi mandaretur, ejus tutelam suscep- 
turum. Turn Asinius Gallus, Interrogo, inquit, C<vsar, 
quam partem rei publicce mandari tibi velis. Perculsus 
improvisa interrogatione, paulum reticuit : dein collecto 
ammo respondit, nequaquam decorum pudori suo legere ali 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XII.-XIII. 67 

quid aut cvitare ex eo, cui in universum excusari mallet 
Rursum Gallus (etenim vultu ofFensionem conjectaverat) ; 
non idcirco interrogatum, ait, ut divideret qua separari ne- 
quirent, sed ut sua confessione argueretur unum esse rei 
publicce corpus atque unius animo regendum : addidit lau 
dem de Augusto, Tiberiumque ipsum victoriarum suarum, 
quaeque in toga per tot annos egregie fecisset, admonuit. 
Nee ideo iram ejus lenivit, pridem invisus, tamquam duc- 
ta in matrimonium Vipsania M. Agrippae filia, qua3 quon- 
dam Tiberii uxor fuerat, plus quam civilia agitaret, Pol- 
lionisque Asinii patris ferociam retineret. 

XIII. Post quae L. Arruntius, baud multum discrepans 
a Galli oratione, perinde offendit, quamquam Tiberio 
nulla vetus in Arruntium ira; sed divitem, promtum, arti- 
bus egregiis et pari fama publice, suspectabat. Quippe 
Augustus, supremis sermonibus cum tractaret, quinam 
adipisci principem locum suffecturi abnuerent, aut im- 
pares vellent, vel iidem possent cuperentque, M\ Lepidum 
dixerat capacem sed aspernantem ; Galium Asinium avi- 
dum et minor em, L, Arruntium non indignum, et, si casus 
daretur, ausurum. De prioribus consentitur : pro Arrun- 
tio quidam Cn. Pisonem tradidere ; omnesque praeter Le- 
pidum variis mox criminibus struente Tiberio circumvent", 
sunt. Etiam Q. Haterius et Mamercus Scaurus suspica- 
cem animum perstrinxere; Haterius, cum dixisset, Quous- 
que patieris, Caesar, non adesse caput rei puhlicce ? Scau- 
rus, quia dixerat, spem esse ex eo, non irritas fore senatus 
preces, quod relationi consulum jure tribunicial potestatis 
non intercessisset. In Haterium statim invectus est; Scau- 
rum, cui implacabilius irascebatur, silentio transmisit : fes- 
susque clamore omnium, expostulatione singulorum, flexit 
paulatim, non ut fateretur suscipi a se imperium, sed ut 
negare et rogari desineret. Constat Haterium, cum de- 
precandi causa palatium introisset, ambulantisque Tiberii 
genua advolveretur, prope a militibus interfectum, quia 



68 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

Tiberius, casu an manibus ejus impeditus, prociderat : 
neque taraen periculo talis viri mitigatus est, doriec Hate- 
rius Augustam oraret, ej usque curatissirnis precibus pro- 
tegeretur. 

XIV. Multa patrum et in Augustam adulatio. Alii 
parentem, alii matrem patrice appellandam ; plerique, ut 
nomini Ccesaris ascriberetur Julice films censebant : ille 
moderandos feminarum honor es dictitans, eademque se tem- 
per antia usurum in its, quce sibi tribuerentur ; ceterum 
anxius invidia, et muliebre fastigium in deminutionem sui 
accipiens,ne lictjrem quidem ei decerni passus est, aram- 
que adoptionis et alia hujuscemodi prohibuit. At Ger- 
manico Caesari proconsulare imperium petivit, missique 
legati qui deferrent, simul moestitiam ejus ob excessura 
Augusti solarentur : quo minus idem pro Druso postula- 
retur, ea causa, quod designatus consul Drusus praesens- 
que erat. Candidatos praeturae duodecim nominavit, nu- 
merum ab Augusto traditum : et, hortante senatu ut auge- 
ret, jurejurando obstrinxit se non excessurum. 

XV. Turn primum e campo comitia ad patres translata 
sunt : nam ad earn diem, etsi potissima arbitrio principis, 
quaedam tamen studiis tribuum fiebant : neque populus 
ademtum jus questus est nisi inani rumore ; et senatus, 
largitionibus ac precibus sordidis exsolutus, libens tenuit, 
moderante Tiberio ne plures quam quatuor candidatos 
commendaret sine repulsa et ambitu designandos. Inter 
quae Tribuni plebei petivere ut proprio sumtu ederent 
ludos, qui de nomine Augusti, fastis additi, Augustales 
vocarentur : sed decreta pecunia ex aerario, utque per cir- 
cum triumphali veste uterentur : curru vehi baud per- 
missum : mox celebratio annua ad praetorem translata, cui 
inter cives et peregrinos jurisdictio evenisset. 

XVI. Hie rerum urbanarum status erat, cum Panno- 
nicas legiones seditio incessit, nullis novis causis, nisi quod 
mutatus princeps licentiam t/*rbarum et ex civili bolJo 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XV1.-XVII. 69 

spem proemiorum ostendebat. Castris aestivis tres siniul 
iegiones habebantur, praesidente Junio Blaeso ; qui fine 
Augusti et mitiis Tiberii auditis ob justitmra aut gaudium 
intermiserat solita munia. Eo principio lascivire miles, 
discordare, pessimi cujusque sermonibus praebere aures, 
denique luxum et otium cupere, disciplinam et laborem 
aspernari. Erat in castris Percennius quidam, dux olira 
theatralium operarum, dein gregarius miles, procax lingua 
et miscere coetus histrionali studio doctus. Is imperitos 
animos, et quaenam post Augustum militiae conditio ambi- 
gentes, impellere paulatim nocturnis colloquiis, aut flexo 
in vesperam die et dilapsis melioribus deterrimum quem- 
que congregare. Postremo, promtis jam et aliis sedi- 
tionis ministris, velut contionabundus interrogabat : 

XVII. Cur paucis centurionibus, paucioribus tribunis, in 
modum servorum obedirent ? quando ausuros exposcere re- 
media, nisi novum et nutantem adhuc principem precibus 
vel armis adirent ? satis per tot annos ignavia peccatum, 
quod tricena aut quadragena stipendia senes, et plerique 
truncato ex vulneribus corpore, tolerent : ne dimissis quidem 
finem esse militice, sed apud vexillum retentos alio vocabulo 
eosdem labores perferre. Ac si quis tot casus vita supera- 
verit, trahi adhuc diver sas in terras, ubi per nomen agro- 
rum uligines paludum vel inculta montium accipiant. 
Enimvero militiam ipsam gravem, infructuosam : denis in 
diem assibus animam et corpus astimari : hinc vestem, 
arma, tentoria, hinc saivitiam centurionum et vacationes 
muncrum redimi. At hercule verbera et vulnera, duram 
hiemem, exercitas estates, bellum atrox aut sterilem pacem 
%empiterna : nee aliud lev amentum quam si certis sub legi- 
Ous militia iniretur, ut singulos denarios mererent, sextus de- 
cumus stipendii annus finem afferret ; ne ultra sub vexilHs 
lenerentur, sed iisdem in castris pramium pecunia solver etur 
An prcetorias cohortes, qua binos denarios acceperint, qua 
post sedceim annos penatibus suis reddaniur, pins ptricu- 



70 C. CORNELIUS TACJTUS. 

lorum suscvpere ? Non obtrectari a se urbanas excubias , 
sibi tamen apud horridas gentes e contuberniis hostem 
aspici. 

XVIII. Adstrepebat vulgus, diversis incitamentis ; hi 
verberum notas, illi canitiem, plurimi detrita tegmina et 
nudum corpus exprobrantes. Postremo eo furoris venere, 
ut tres legiones miscere in unam agitaverint : depulsi 
aemulatione, quia suae quisque legioni eum honorem quae- 
rebant, alio vertunt, atque una tres aquilas et signa co- 
hortium locant : simul congerunt cespites, exstruunt tri- 
bunal, quo magis conspicua sedes foret. Properantibus 
Blaesus advenit, increpabatque ac retinebat singulos, 
clamitans : Mea potius cade imbuite manus ; leviore jla- 
gitio legatum interficietis quam ab imperatore desciscitis ; 
aut incolumis fidem legionum retinebo, aut jugulatus pceni- 
tentiam accelerabo. 

XIX. Aggerebatur nihilominus cespes, jamque pectori 
usque accreverat, cum tandem pervicacia victi inceptum 
omisere. Blaesus, multa dicendi arte, Non per seditionem 
et turbas desideria militum ad Ccesarem ferenda, ait: ne 
que veteres ab imperatoribus priscis neque ipsos a diva Au- 
gusto tarn nova petivisse ; et parum in tempore incipientes 
principis cur as onerari. Si tamen tender ent in pace ten- 
tare quce ne civilium quidem bellorum victores expostula- 
verintj cur contra morem obsequii, contra fas discipline vim 
meditentur ? decernerent legatos, seque coram mandata da- 
rent. Acclamavere, ut films Blcesi tribunus legatione ea 
fungeretur, peter etque militibus missionem ab sedecim annis : 
cetera mandaturos ubi prima proveniss ent. Profecto juvene, 
modicum otium; sed superbire miles, quod filius legati 
orator publicae causae satis ostenderet necessitate ex- 
pressa, quae per modestiam non obtinuissent. 

XX. Interea manipuli, ante cceptam seditionem Nau- 
portum missi, ob itinera et pontes et alios usus, postquam 
mrbatum in castris accepere, vexilla convellunt, direptis- 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XX.-XXII. 7l 

que proximis vicis ipsoque Nauporto, quod municipii 
instar erat, retinentes centuriones irrisu et contumeliis, 
postremo verberibus insectantur; praecipuainAufidienum 
Rufum praefectum castrorum ira, quern dereptum vehiculo 
sarcinis gravant aguntque primo in agmine, per ludibrium 
rogitantes, an tarn immensa oncra, tarn longa itinera liben- 
ter ferret ? Quippe Rufus diu manipularis, dein centurio, 
mox castris praefectus, antiquam duramque militiam revo- 
cabat, intentus operis ac laboris, et eo immitior quia tolera- 
verat. 

XXI. Horum adventu redintegratur seditio, et vagi 
circumjecta populabantur. Blaesus paucos, maxime praeda 
onustos, ad terrorem ceterorum affici verberibus, claudi 
carcere jubet : nam etiam turn legato a centurionibus et 
optimo quoque manipularium parebatur. Illi obniti tra- 
hentibus, prensare circumstantium genua, ciere modo 
nomina singulorum, modo centuriam quisque cujus mani- 
pularis erat, cohortem, legionem, eadem omnibus imminere 
clamitantes ; simul probra in legatum cumulant, ccelum 
ac deos obtestantur; nihil reliqui faciunt quo minus in 
vidiam, misericordiam, metum et iras permoverent. Ac 
curritur ab universis, et carcere effracto solvunt vincula 
desertoresque ac rerum capitalium damnatos sibi jair 
miscent. 

XXII. Flagrantior inde vis, plures seditioni duces : et 
Vibulenus quidam, gregarius miles, ante tribunal Blaesi 
a.llevatus circumstantium humeris, apud turbatos, et, quid 
pararet, intentos : Vos quidem, inquit, his innocentibus et 
miserrimis lucem et spiritum reddidistis : sed quis fratri 
meo vitam, quis fratrem mihi reddit ? quern missum ad vos 
a Germanico exercitu de communibus commodis node proxi* 
ma jugulavit per gladiator es suos f quos in exitium militum 
liabet atque armat. Responde, Blase, ubi cadaver abje- 
cerisj ne hostes quidem sepidtura invident : cum oscidis, 
cum lacrimis dolorem meum impleve?o t me quoque trucidari 



72 C. CORNELIUS TA3ITUS. 

jube, dum interfectos nullum ob scelus, sed quia utilitati 
legionum consulcbamus^ hi sepeliant. 

XXIIL Incendebat haec fletu et pectus atque os mani- 
bus verberans : mox disjectis quorum per humeros sus- 
tinebatur. praeceps et singulorum pedibus advolutus tan- 
tarn consternationis invidiaeque concivit, ut pars militura 
gladiatores, qui e servitio Blaesi erant, pars ceteram ejus- 
dem familiam vincirent, alii ad quaerendum corpus effun- 
derentur: ac ni propere neque corpus ullum reperiri, et 
servos adhibitis cruciatibus abnuere caedem, neque illi 
fuisse unquam fratrem pernotuisset, haud multum ab ex- 
itio legati aberant. Tribunos tamen ac prasfecturn castro- 
rum extrusere : sarcinae fugientium direptas : et centurio 
Lucilius interficitur, cui militaribus facetiis vocabulum 
Cedo alteram indiderant ; quia, fracta vite in tergo militis, 
alteram clara voce ac rursus aliam poscebat. Ceteros 
latebrae texere, uno retento Clemente Julio, qui perferen- 
dis militum mandatis habebatur idoneus ob promtum in 
genium. Quin ipsae inter se legiones octava et quinta 
decuma ferrum parabant dum centurionem cognomento 
Sirpicum ilia morti deposcit, quintadecumani tuentur, ni 
miles nonanus preces et adversum aspernantes minas in- 
terjecisset. 

XXIV.- Haec audita quamquam abstrusum et tristissima 
quaeque maxime occultantem Tiberium perpulere ut Dru- 
sum filium cum primoribus civitatis duabusque praetoriis 
cohortibus mitteret, nullis satis certis mandatis, ex re 
consulturum. Et cohortes delecto milite supra solitum 
firmatae. Additur magna pars praetoriani equitis et robora 
Germanorum, qui turn custodes imperatori aderant: simul 
praetorii praefectus iElius Sejanus, collega Straboni patri 
8uo datus, magna apud liberium auctoritate, rector ju- 
veni, et ceteris periculorum praemiorumque ostentator. 
Druso propinquanti quasi per officium obviae fuere lagio* 
aes, non laetae, ut assolet, neque insignibus fulgentes, sed 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. — -CAP. XXIV.-XXVII. 73 

illuvie deformi et vultu, quamquam moestitiam imitarentur, 
contumaciae propiores. 

XXV. Postquam vallum introiit, portas 6tationibus 
firmant, globos armatorum certis castrorum locis opperiri 
jubent: ceteri tribunal ingenti agmine circumveniunt. 
Stabat Drusus, silentium manu poscens : illi, quotiens 
oculos ad multitudinem retulerant, vocibus truculentis 
strepere ; rursum, viso Caesare, trepidare; murmur incer- 
t.im, atrox clamor, et repente quies ; diversis animorum 
riotibus pavebant terrebantque. Tandem, interrupto tu- 
multu, litteras patris recitat, in quis perscriptum erat : 
Prcecipuam ipsi fortissimarum legionum cur am, quibuscum 
I lurima bella toleravisset ; ubi primum a luctu requiesset 
animus^ acturum apud patres de postulatis eorum ; misisse 
interim filium ut sine cunctatione concederet, quce statim tri- 
bui possent ; cetera senatui servanda, quern neque gratice 
neque severitatis expertem Tiaberi far esset. 

XXVI. Responsum est a concione mandata Clemenli 
centurioni, quce perferret. Is orditur de missione a sedecim 
annis : de prcemiis finita militia : ut denarius diurnum 
stipendium foret ; ne veterani sub vexillo haberentur. Ad 
ea Drusus, cum arbitrium senatus et patris obtenderet, 
clamore turbatur : Cur venissct, neque augendis militum 
stipendiis, neque allevandis laboribus, denique nulla bene- 
faciendi licentia ? at hercule verbera et necem cunctis per 
mitti. Tiberium olim nomine Augusti desideria legionum 
frustrari solitum : easdem artes Drusum retulisse : nun- 
quamne nisi ad se filios familiarum venturos ? novum id 
plawe, quod imperator sola militis commoda ad senatum 
rejiciat : eundem ergo senatum consulendum, quotiens sup 
plicia aut pradia indicantur ; an pramia sub dominis, pos 
nas sine arbitro esse? 

XXVII. Postremo deserunt tribunal : ut quis praetori- 
anorum militum amicorumve Caesaris occurreret, manus in 
tentantes., causam discordiae et initium armorum; maxime 

D 



74 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

mfensi Cn. Lentulo, quod is, ante alios aetate et gloria 
belli, firmare Drusum credebatur, et ilia militiae flagitia 
primus aspernari. Nee multo post, digredientem cum 
Caesare, ac provisu periculi hiberna castra repetentem 
circumsistunt, rogitantes, quo pergeret ? ad imperatorem an 
adpatres ? ut illic quoque commodis legionum adversaretur ? 
Simul ingruunt, saxa jaciunt: jamque lapidis ictu cruen- 
tus, et exitii certus, accursu multitudinis, quae cum Druse 
advenerat, protectus est. 

XXVIII. Noctem minacem et in scelus erupturam for3 
lenivit; nam luna claro repente caelo visa languescere. Id 
miles, rationis ignarus, omen praesentiurn accipiebat, suis 
laborious defectionem sideris assimuians, prosper eque ces- 
sura qua pergerent, si f vigor et claritudo deaz redderetur : 
igitur aeris sono, tubarum cornuumque concentu strepere ; 
prout splendidior obscuriorve, laetari aut mcerere ; et post 
quam ortae nubes ofFecere visui creditumque conditam 
tenebris, ut sunt mobiles ad superstitionem perculsae semeJ 
mentes, sibi externum laborem portendi, sua faclnora aver 
sari deos lamentantur. Utendum inclinatione ea Caesar, 
et quae casus obtulerat in sapientiam vertenda ratus, cir- 
ciimiri tentoria jubet. Accitur centurio Clemens, et si 
alii bonis artibus grati in vulgus : ii vigiliis, stationibus, 
custodiis portarum se inserunt, spem offerunt, metum in- 
tendant. Quousque filium imperatoris obsidebimus ? quu 
certaminum finis ? Percennione et Vibuleno sacramentum 
dicturi sumus ? Percennius et Vibulenus stipendia mill- 
tibus, agros enteritis largientur ? denique pro Neronibm 
et Drusis imperium populi Romani capessent ? quin po- 
tins, ut novissimi in culpam, ita primi ad pcenitentiam 
sumus ? Tarda sunt qua in commune expostulantur : 
frivatam gratiam statim mcreare, statim recipias. Com* 
mods per haec mentibus et inter se suspectis, tironem a 
veterano, legionem a legione dissociant. Turn red ire 
paulatim amor obsequii : omittunt portas, signa unuiu 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XXVII1.-XXX. 75 

in locum principio seditionis congregata suas in sedes 
referunt. 

XXIX. Drusus, orto die et vocata concione, quamquam 
rudis dicendi nobilitate ingenita incusat priora, probat 
praesentia : negat se terrore et minis vinci : fiexos ad mo- 
destiam si videat, si supplices audiat, scrij)turwn patri, ut 
placatus legionum preces exciperet : orantibus, rursum 
idem Blaesus et L. Apronius, eques Romanus e cohorte 
Drusi, Juslusque Catonius, primi ordinis centurio, ad Ti- 
berium mittuntur. Certatum inde sententiis, cum alii, op- 
periendos legatos atque interim comitate permulcendum 
militem, censerent ; alii, fortioribus remediis agendum : 
nihil in vulgo modicum; terrere 9 ni paveant ; ubi pertimu- 
erint, impune contemni ; dum superstitio urgeat, adjiciendos 
ex duce ?netus i sublatis seditionis auctoribus. Promtum 
ad asperiora ingenium Druso erat : vocatos Vibulenum et 
Percennium interfici jubet. Tradunt plerique intra ta- 
bernaculum ducis obrutos ; alii corpora extra vallum ab- 
jecta ostentui. 

XXX. Turn, ut quisque praecipuus turbator, conquisiti ; 
et pars, extra castra palantes, a centurionibus aut praeto- 
riarum cohortium militibus caesi : quosdam ipsi manipu- 
li, documentum fidei, tradidere. Auxerat militum curas 
prematura hiems, imbribus continuis adeoque seevis, ut 
non egredi tentoria, congregari inter se, vix tutari signa 
possent, quae turbine atque unda raptabantur : durabat et 
formido ccelestis irae, nee frustra adversus impios hebescere 
sidera, ruere tempestates : non aliud malorum lev-amentum 
quam si linquerent castra infausta temerataque, et soluti pi- 
aculo suis quisque hibernis redder entur : primum octava, 
dein quintadecuma legio redieie. Nonanus opperiendas 
Tiberii epistolas clamitaverat, mox desolatus aliorum dis- 
cessione imminentem necessitatem sponte praevenit : et 
Drusus, non exspectato legatorum regressu, quia praesentia 
saus consederant, in urbem rediit. 



76 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

XXXI. Iisdem ferine diebus, iisdem causis Germanicae 
legiones turbatae, quanto plures. tanto violentius, et magna 
spe fore ut Germanicus Caesar imperium alterius pati 
nequiret, daretque se legionibus vi sua cuncta tracturis 
Duo apud ripam Rheni exercitus erant: cui noraen su 
periori, sub C. Silio legato; inferiorem A. Csecina curabat. 
Regimen summae rei penes Germanicum, agendo Gallia- 
rum censui turn intentum. Sed quibus Silius moderaba- 
tur, mente ambigua fortuflam seditionis alienae specula- 
bantur : inferioris exercitus miles in rabiem prolapsus est, 
orto ab unaetvicesimanis quintanisque initio, et tractis 
prima quoque ac vicesima legionibus ; nam iisdem aestivis 
in finibus Ubiorum habebantur per otium aut levia munia. 
Igitur, audito fine Augusti, vernacula multitudo, nuper 
acto in urbe delectu, lasciviae sueta, laborum intolerans, 
impellere ceterorum rudes animos : venisse tempus, quo 
veterani maturam missio?iem, juvenes largiora stipendia, 
cuncti modum miseriarum exposcerent, scevitiamque centu- 
rionum ulciscerentur. Non unus haec, ut Pannonicas inter 
legiones Percennius, nee apud trepidas militum aures alios 
validiores exercitus respicientium, sed multa seditionis ora 
vocesque : sua in manu sitam rem Romanam ; suis victo- 
riis augeri rem publicam ; in suum cognomentum adscisci 
imperatores. 

XXXII. Nee legatus obviam ibat : quippe plurium ve- 
cordia constantiam exemerat. Repente lymphati destrictis 
gladiis in centuriones invadunt : ea vetustissima militari- 
bus odiis materies, et saeviendi principium. Prostratos 
verberibus mulcant, sexageni singulos, ut numerum cen- 
turionum adaequarent. Turn convulsos laniatosque et 
partim exanimos ante vallum aut in amnem Rhenum pro- 
jiciunt. Septimius, cum perfugisset ad tribunal, pedibus- 
que Caecinae advolveretur, eo usque flagitatus est donee ad 
sxitium dederetur. Cassius Chaerea, mox caede C. Caesaris 
raemoriam apud posteros adeptus, turn adolescens, et anitni 



ANNAL1UM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XXXII.-XXXIV. 77 

ferox, inter obstantes et armatos ferro viam patefecit 
Non tribunus ultra, non castrorum praefectus jus obtiimit: 
vigilias, stationes, et si qua alia praesens usus indixerat, 
ipsi partiebantur. Id, militares animos altius conjectanti- 
bus, praecipuum indicium magni atque implacabilis motus, 
quod neque disjecti, nee paucorum instinctu, sed pariter 
ardescerent, pariter silerent ; tanta aequalitate et constan- 
ts a, ut regi crederes. . 

XXXIII. Interea Germanico per Gallias, ut diximus, 
census accipienti, excessisse Augustura affertur. Neptem 
ejus Agrippinam in matrimonio, pluresque ex ea liberos 
habebat. Ipse, Druso fratre Tiberii genitus, Augustas 
nepos ; sed anxius occultis in se patrui aviaeque odiis, 
quorum causae acriores, quiainiquae : quippe Drusi magna 
apud populum Romanum memoria, credebaturque, si re- 
rum potitus foret, libertatem redditurus: unde in German- 
icum favor et spes eadem. Nam juveni civile ingenium, 
mira comitas et diversa a Tiberii sermone, vultu, arrogan- 
tibus et obscuris. Accedebant muliebres offensiones, 
novercalibus Liviaa in Agrippinam stimulis ; atque ipsa 
Agrippina paulo commotior, nisi quod castitate et maiiti 
amore quamvis indomitum animum in bonum vertebat. 

XXXIV. Sed Germanicus, quanto sumraae spei propior, 
tanto impensius pro Tiberio niti. Sequanos proximas et 
Belgarum civitates in verba ejus adigit. Dehinc, audito 
legionum tumultu, raptim profectus obvias extra castra 
habuit, dejectis in terram oculis velut pcenitentia. Post- 
quam vallum iniit, dissoni questus audiri coepere : et qui- 
dam, prensa manu ejus per speciem exosculandi, inser- 
uerunt digitos, ut vacua dentibus ora contingeret, alii 
curvata senio membra ostendebant. Assistentem con- 
cionem, quia permixta videbatur, discedere in manipvlos 
jubet : sic melius audituros responsum ; vexilla prqferri, 
ut id saltern discerneret colwrtes ; tarde obtemperavere. 
Tunc, a veneratione Augusti orsus, flexit ad victorias fci 



78 c. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

umphosque Tiberii, praecipuis laudibus celebrans qua apud 
Germanias illis cum legionibus pulcherrimajecisset. Italia 
inde consensum, Galliarum Jidem extollit ; nil usquam tur 
bidum aut discors. 

XXXV. Silentio haec vel murraure modico audita sunt. 
CJt seditionem attigit, ubi modestia militaris, ubi veteris 
disciplines decus, quonam tribunos, quo centuriones exegis- 
sent, rogitans, nudant universi corpora, cicatrices ex vul~ 
neribus, verberum notas exprobrant ; mox indiscretis voci- 
bus pretia vacationum, angustias stipendii, duritiam ope 

im, ac propriis nominibus incusant vallum, fossas , pabuh , 
,naterice, lignorum aggestus, et si qua alia ex necessitate 
aut adversus otium castrorum qua3runtur. Atrocissimus 
veteranorum clamor oriebatur ; qui tricena aut supra 
stipendia numerantes, mederetur fessis, neu mortem in 
iisdem laboribus, sed jinem tarn excrcitm militia, neque 
inopem requiem, orabant. Fuere etiam qui legatam a divo 
Augusto pecuniam reposcerent, faustis in Germanicum 
ominibus ; et, si vellet imperium, promptos ostentavere. 
Turn vero, quasi scelere contaminaretur, praeceps tribunali 
desiluit : opposuerunt abeunti arma, rninitantes, ni regre- 
deretur. At ille, moriturum potius quam jidem exueret, 
clamitans, ferrurn a latere deripuit, elatumque deferebat 
in pectus, ni proximi prensam dextram vi attinuissenr. 
Extrema et conglobata inter se pars concionis, ac, vix 
credibile dictu, quidam singuli propius incedentes feriret 
hortabantur; et miles nomine Calusidius strictum obtulit 
gladium, addito acutiorem esse. Saevum id malique moris 
etiam furentibus visum ; ac spatium fuit, quo Caesar ab 
amicis in tabernaculum raperetur. 

XXXVI. Consultatum ibi de remedio : etenim nuntia- 
batur parari legatos qui superiorem exercitum ad causam 
tandem traherent ; destinatum excidio Ubiorum oppidum ; 
imbutasque prceda manus in direptionem Galliarum eruptu- 
ras. Augebat metum gnarus Romanae seditionis* et, si 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XXXVI.-XXXIX. f3 

omitteretur ripa, invasurus hostis ; at, si auxilia et socii 
adversum abscedentes legiones armarentur, civile bellum 
suscipi : periculosa severitas, flagitiosa largitio ; seu nihil 
railiti sive omnia concederentur, in ancipiti res publica. 
Igitur, volutatis inter se rationibus, placitum, ut epistolas 
nomine principis scriberentur : missionem dari vicena sti- 
pendia meritis ; exauctorari^ qui scnadena fccissent, ac re- 
tineri sub vexillo, ceterorum immunes, nisi propulsandi hos- 
tis : legata, qua petivcrant, exsolvi duplicarique. 

XXXVII. Sensit miles in tempus conficta, statimque 
flagitavit. Missio per tribunos maturatur: largitio differe- 
batur in hiberna cuj usque. Non abscessere quintani 
unaetvicesimanique, donee iisdem in aestivis contracta ex 
viatico amicorum ipsiusque Caesaris pecunia persolvere- 
tur. Primam ac vicesimam legiones Csecina legatus in 
civitatem Ubiorum reduxit, turpi agmine, cum fisci de 
imperatore rapti inter signa interque aquilas veherentur. 
Germanicus superiorem ad exercitum profectus, secundam 
et tertiamdecumam et sextamdecumam legiones, nihil 
cunctatas, sacramento adigit. Quartadecumani paulum 
dubitaverant ; pecunia et missio quamvis non flagitantibus 
oblata est. 

XXXVIII. At in Caucis cceptavere seditionem praesi- 
dium agitantes vexillarii discordium legionum, et praesenti 
duorum militum supplicio paulum repressi sunt. Jusserat 
id Mennius, castrorum praefectus, bono magis exemplo, 
quam concesso jure : deinde, intumescente motu, profugus 
repertusque, postquam intutae latebrae, praesidium ab au- 
lacia mutuatur : non prcefectum ab Us, sed Germanicum 
Jucem, sed Tiberium imperatorem violari. Simul exterritis 
qui obstiterant, raptum vexillum ad ripam vertit, et, si quis 
agmine decessisset, pro desertorejbre, clamitans, reduxit in 
bibrrna turbidos et nihil ausos. 

XXXIX. Interea legati ab senatu regressum jam apud 
arart Ubiorum Germanicum adeunt. Duas ibi legiones, 



SO C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

prima atque vicesima, veteranique, nuper missi sub vexillo, 
hiemabant. Pavidos et conscientia vecordes intrat metus, 
venisse patrum jussu, qui irrita facerent, quae per sedi- 
tionem expresserant. Utque mos vulgo, quamvis falsis 
reum subdere, Munatium Plancum, consulatu functum, 
principem legationis, auctorem senatusconsulti incusant; 
et nocte concubia vexillum, in domo Germanici situm, fla- 
gitare occipiunt, concursuque ad januam facto, moliuntur 
fores; extractum cubili Caesarem trad ere vexillum intento 
mortis metu sabigunt. Mox, Tagi per vias, obvios habuere 
legatos, audita consternatione aJ Germanicum tendentes. 
Ingerunt contumelias, caedem parant ; Planco maxime, 
quern diguitas fuga impediverat. Neque aliud periclitanti 
subsidium quam castra primae Segionis : illic, signa et 
aquilam amplexus,religione sese tutabatur; ac, iii aquilifer 
Calpurnius vim extremam arcuisset (rarum etiam inter 
hostes), legatus populi Romani, Romanis in castris, san- 
guine suo altaria deum commaculavisset. Luce demum, 
postquam dux et miles et facta noscebantur, ingressus 
castra Germanicus perduci ad se Plancum imperat, re- 
cepitque in tribunal. Turn fatalem increpans rabiem. 
neque militum, sed deum ira resurgere, cur venerint legati 
aperit : jus legationis, atque ipsius Planci gravem et im- 
meritum caswn, simul quaritum dedecoris adierit legio, fa- 
cunde miseratur, attonitaque magis quam quieto concione, 
legatos praesidio auxiliarium equitum dimittit. 

XL. Eo in metu arguere Germanicum omnes, qxod nan 
ad superior em exercitum pergeret^ uhi obsequia, cl contra 
rchelles auxilium. Satis superque missione et pectiAic et 
mollibus consultis peccatum : vel, si vilis ipsi salus, curfiliam 
parvulum, cur gravidam conjugem, inter fur entes et ovinis 
hum ani juris violator es haberet? illos saltern avo et r*>i 
publico? redderet. Diu cunctatus, aspernantem uxorer , 
cum se divo Augusto ortam neque degenerem ad perictu 
testaretur, postremo uterum ejus et communem filiun 



ANNAL1UM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XL.-XLII. 81 

multo cum fletu, complexus, ut abiret perpulit. Incedebat 
muliebre et miserabile agmen ; profuga ducis uxor, par- 
vulum sinu filium • gerens, lamentantes circum amicorum 
conjuges, quae simul trahebantur; nee minus tristes, qui 
manebant. 

XL I. Non florentis Caesaris, neque suis in castris, sed 
velut in urbe victa, facies, gemitusque ac planctus, etiam 
militum aures oraque advertere. Progrediuntur contu- 
berniis : quis ille Jlebilis sonus ? quid tarn triste 1 feminas 
illustres — non centurionem ad tutelam, non militem, nihil 
imperatorice uxoris aut comitatus soliti — pcrgere ad Treveros 
et externa jidei I Pudor inde et miseratio, et patris Agrip- 
pae, Augusti avi, memoria; socer Drusus; ipsa insigni 
fecunditate, praeclara pudicitia ; jam infans in castris geni- 
tus, in contubernio legionum eductus, quem militari voca- 
bulo Caligulam appellabant, quia plerumque ad concili- 
anda vulgi studia eo tegmine pedum induebatur. Sed 
nihil aeque flexit quam invidia in Treveros : orant, obsis- 
tunt, rediret, maneret, pars Agrippinae occursantes, plurimi 
ad Germanicum regressi : isque, ut erat recens dolore el 
ira, apud circumfusos ita coepit : — 

XLII. Non mihi uxor aut films patre et re publica 
cariores sunt: sed ilium quidem sua majestas, imperium 
Romanum ceteri exercitus defendent, Conjugem et liberos 
meos, quos pro gloria vestra libens ad exitium offerrem, nunc 
procul a furentibus summoveo, ut, quidquid istuc sceleris 
imminet, meo tantum sanguine pictur; neve occisus Augusti 
pronepos, interfecta Tiberii nurus, nocentiores vos faciat : 
quid enim per 7ws dies inausum intemeratumve vobis? 
Quod nomen Jiuic coztui dabo ? militesne appellem ? qui 
filium imperatoris vestri vallo et armis circumsedistis. An 
cives ? quibus tarn projecta senatus auctoritas : liostium 
quoquejus et sacra legationis etfas gentium rupistis. JDivus 
Julius seditionem exercitus verbo uno compescuit, Quirites 
vocando qui sacammtum ejus detrectabant. Divus Augus 

D2 



82 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

tus vultu et aspectu Actiacas legiones exterruit : nos, ut non- 
dum eosdem, ita ex illis ortos, si Hispanice SyricBve miles 
aspetnaretur, tamen mirum ct indignum erat. Trimane et 
vicesima legiones, ilia signis a Tiberio acceptis, tu tot prce' 
liorum socia, tot prcemiis aucta, egregiam duci vestro gra- 
tiam refertis ? hunc ego nuntium jiatri, Iceta omnia aliis e 
provinciis audienti,feram ? ipsius thrones, ipsius veteranos, 
non missione, non pecunia satiatos : hie tantum interfici 
centuriones, ejici tribunos, includi legatos : infecta sanguine 
castra, flumina : meque precariam animam inter infensos 
trahere ? 

XLIII. Cur enim,primo concionis die,Jerrum Mud, quod 
pectori meo injigere parabam, detraxistis ? O improvidi 
amici ! melius et amantius ille, qui gladium ojferebat. 
Cecidissem certe nondum tot Jlagitiorum exercitui meo con- 
scius : legissetis ducem, qui meam quidem mortem impuni- 
tarn sineret, Vari tamen et trium legionum ulcisceretur. 
Neque enim dii sinant, ut Belgarum, quamquam ojferentium, 
decus istud et claritudo sit, sub venisse Romano nomini, com- 
pressisse Germanice populos. Tua, dive Auguste, cado re- 
cepta mens, tua, pater Druse, imago, tui memoria, iisdem 
istis cum militibus, quo s jam pudor et gloria intrat, eluant 
hanc maculam, irasque civiles in exitium hostibus vcrtant ! 
Vos quoque, quorum alia nunc or a, alia p>ectora contueor, si 
legatos senatui, obsequium imperatori, si milii conjugem et 
Jilium redditis, discedite a contactu ac dividite turbidos : id 
stabile ad poenitentiam, idfidei vinculum erit. 

XLIV. Supplices ad haec, et vera exprobrari fatentes, 
orabant, puniret noxios, ignosceret lapsis, ct duceret in hos- 
tem : revocaretur conjux, rediret legionum alumnus, neve 
obscs Gallis traderetur. Reditum Agrippinae excusavit ob 
imminentem partum et hiemem; venturum Jilium : cetera 
ipsi exsequerentur. Discurrunt mutati, et seditiosissimum 
quemque vinctos trahunt ad legatum legionis primae, C. 
Cetronium, qui judicium et poenas de singulis in hunc 



ANNAL1UM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XLIV.-XLVI. 83 

modum exercuit. Stabant pro concione legiones destric* 
tis gladiis : reus in suggestu per tribunum ostendebatur : 
sinocente?n acclamaverant, praeceps datus trucidabatur: et 
gaudebat caedibus miles tamquam semet absolveret : nee 
Caesar arcebat, quando, nullo ipsius jussu, penes eosdem 
saevitia facti et invidia erat. Secuti exemplum veterani 
haud multopost in Raetiam mittuntur, specie defendendae 
provinciae, ob imminentes Suevos; ceterum ut avellerentur 
castris trucibus adhuc non minus asperitate remedii quam 
sceleris memoria. Centurionatum inde egit : citatus ab 
imperatore, nomen, ordinem, patriam, numerum stipendio- 
rum, quae strenue in prceliis fecisset, et cui erant dona 
militaria, edebat: si tribuni, si legio industriam innocenti- 
amque approbaverant, retinebat ordines : ubi avaritiam 
aut crudelitatem consensu objectavissent, solvebatur mi- 
litia. 

XLV, Sic compositis praesentibus, haud minor moles 
supererat ob ferociam quintae et unaetvicesimae legionum, 
sexagesimum apud lapidem (loco Vetera nomen est) hiber- 
nantium. Nam primi seditionem cceptaverant ; atrocissi 
mum quodque facinus horum manibus patratum ; nee 
poena commilitonum exterriti, nee pcenitentia conversi, 
iras retinebant. Igitur Caesar arma, classem, socios de- 
mittere Rheno parat, si imperium detrectetur, bello cer- 
taturus. 

XLVI. At Romae, nondum cognito, qui fuisset exitus 
in Illyrico, et legionum Gerrnanicarum motu audito, tre- 
pida civitas incusare Tiberium, quod, dum patres ct plcbe?n, 
invalida et inermia, cunctatione Jicta ludificetur, dissideat 
interim miles, neque duorum adolescentium nondum adulta 
auctoritate comprimi queat: ire ipsum et opponere majesta- 
tern imperatoriam debuisse cessuris ubi principem longa ex* 
perientia, enndemque severitatis et muniJiceuticE summum, 
ridissent. An Augustum, fessa estate, totiens in Germaniaa 
mmmeare potuisse : Tiberium, vigentem annis, sedere in 



84 • C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

senatUy verba pat) um cavillantem ? satis prospectum ur~ 
hancB servituti : militaribus animis adhibenda f omenta, ut 
ferre pacem v el int. 

XL VII. Immotum adversus eos sermones fixuraque 
Tiberio fuit non omittere caput rerum, neque se rem que 
publicam in casum dare. Multa quippe et diversa ange- 
bant: validior per Germaniam exercitus, propior apud 
Pannoniam : Me Galliarum opibus subnixus, hie Italics im- 
minens: quos igitur antefei'ret? ac ne postpositi contumelia 
irtcenderentur . At per filios pariter adiri f majestate salva , 
cui major e longinquo reverentia : simul adolescentibus ex 
cusatum quadam ad patrem rejicere ; resistentesque Gei 
manico aut Druso posse a sc mitigari vet infringi : quod 
aliud subsidium, si imperatorem sprevissent? Ceterum, 
ut jam jamque iturus, legit comites, conquisivit impedi- 
menta, adornavit naves : mox hi em em aut negotia varie 
causatus, primo prudentes, dein vulgum, diutissime pro- 
vincias fefellit. 

XLVIII. At Germanicus, quamquam contracto exer- 
citu, et parata in defectores ultione, dandum adhuc spatium 
ratus, si recenti exemplo sibi ipsi consulerent, prsemittit 
litteras ad Caecinam, venire se valida manu, ac, ni suppli 
cium in malos prcssumant, usurum promiscua ccsde. Eas 
Cascina aquiliferis signiferisque, et quod maxime castro- 
rum sincerum erat, occulte recitat, utque cunctos infamies, 
se ipsos morti eximant, hortatur : nam in pace causas et 
merita spectari: uli bellum ingruat, innocentes ac noxios 
juxta cadere. Illi tentatis quos idoneos rebantur, post- 
quam majorem legionum partem in officio vident, de sen- 
tentia legati statuunt tempus, quo foedissimum quemque 
et seditioni promtum ferro invadant. Tunc, signo intei 
se dato, irrumpunt contubernia, trucidant ignaros : nullo, 
nisi consciis, noscente quod caedis initium, quis finis. 

XLIX. Diversd omnium quag unquam accidere civilium 
strmorum facies : non prcelio, non adversis e castris, sed 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. XLIX.-LI. 85 

risdem e cubilibus, quos simul vescentes dies, simul quieto? 
nox habaerat, discedunt in partes, ingerunt tela. Clamor, 
vulnera, sanguis palam ; causa in occulto : cetera fors re- 
git: et quidam bonorum caesi, postquam, intellecto in quos 
saeviretur, pessimi quoque arm a rapuerant : neque legatus 
aut tribunus moderator adfuit : permissa vulgo licentia 
atque ultio et satietas. Mox ingressus castra Germanicus, 
non medicinam illud, plurimis cum lacrimis, sed cladem 
appellans, cremari corpora jubet. Truces etiam turn am- 
inos cupido involat eundi in hostem, piaculum furoris : 
nee aliter posse placari commilitonum manes, quam si 
pectoribus impiis honesta vulnera accepissent. Sequitur 
ardorem militum Caesar, junctoque ponte tramittit duo- 
decim millia e legionibus, sex et viginti socias cohortes, 
octo equitum alas, quarum ea seditione intemerata mo- 
destia fuit. 

L. Laeti, neque procul, Germani agitabant, dum jus- 
titio ob amissum Augustum post discordiis attinemur. At 
Romanus, agmine propero, silvam Caesiam limitemque a 
Tiberio cceptum scindit ; castra in limite locat ; frontem 
ac tergum vallo, latera concaedibus munit. Inde saltus 
obscuros permeat, consul tatque, ex duobus itineribus breve 
et solitum sequatur, an impeditius et intentatmn, eoque hos- 
tibus incautum. Delecta longiore via, cetera acceleran- 
tur : etenim attulerant exploratores festam earn Germa- 
nis noctem ac solennibus epulis ludicram. Caecina cum 
expeditis cohortibus praeire, et obstantia silvarum amoliri 
jubetur : legiones modico intervallo sequuntur. Juvit 
nox sideribus illustris : ventumque ad vicos Marsorum, et 
circumdatae stationes, stratis etiam turn per cubilia prop- 
terque mensas, nullo metu, non antepositis vigiliis. Adeo 
cuncta incuria disjecta erant, neque belli timor ; ac ne pax 
quidem, nisi languida et soluta, inter temulentos. 

LI. Caesar avidas legiones, quo latior populatio foret, 
quatuor in cuneos dispertit : quinquaginta millium spa- 



86 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

tium ferro flammisque pervastat : non sexus, non aetas 
miserationem attulit ; profana simal et sacra et celeberri- 
raura illis gentibus templum, quod Tanfance vocabant, solo 
aequantur : sine vulnere milites, qui semisomnos, inermos, 
aut pal antes ceciderant. Excivit ea caedes Bructeros, Tu- 
bantes, Usipetes ; saltusque, per quos exercitui regressus, 
insedere: quod gnarum duci; incessitque itineri et prcelio. 
Pars equitum et auxiliariae cohortes ducebant, mox prima 
legio, et rnediis impedimentis sinistrum latus unaetvicesi- 
mani, dextrum quintani clausere ; vicesima legio terga 
firmavit ; post ceteri sociorum. Sed hostes, donee agmen 
per saltus porrigeretur, immoti ; dein latera et frontem 
modice assultantes, tota vi novissimos incurrere : turba- 
banturque densis Germanorum catervis leves cohortes, 
cum Caesar advectus ad vicesimanos voce magna hoc illud 
tempus oblitterandce seditionis clamitabat ; pergerent, pro- 
perarent culpam in decus vertere. Exarsere animis, unoque 
impetu perruptum hostem redigunt in aperta, caeduntque: 
simul primi agminis copiae evasere silvas castraque com 
munivere. Quietum inde iter : fidensque recentibus ac 
priorum oblitus miles in hibernis locatur. 

LII. Nuntiata ea Tiberium laetitia curaque affecere : 
gaudebat oppressam seditionem : sed quod largiendis pe- 
cuniis et raissione festinata favorem militum quaasivisset, 
bellica quoque Germanici gloria, angebatur. Rettulit 
tamen ad senatum de rebus gestis, multaque de virtute 
ejus memoravit, magis in speciem verbis adornata, quam 
ut penitus sentire crederetur. Paucioribus Drusum et 
finem Illyrici motus laudavit, sed intentior et flda oratione : 
cunctaque, quae Germanicus indulserat, servavit etiam 
apud Pannonicos exercitus. 

LIII. Eodem anno Julia supremum diem obiit, ob im- 
pudicitiam olim a patre Augusto Pandateria insula, mox 
oppido Rheginorum, qui Siculum fretum accolunt, clausa. 
Fuerat in matrimonio Tiberii, florentibus Caio et Lucio 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. LIII.-LV. 87 

Caesaribus, spreveratque ut imparem; nee alia tarn intirna 
Tiberio causa, cur Rhodum abscederet : imperium adep- 
tus, extorrem, infamem, et post interfectum Postumum 
Agrippam omnis spei egenam, inopia ac tabe longa pere- 
mit, obscuram fore necera longinquitate exsilii ratus. Par 
causa saevitiae in Sempronium Gracchum, qui familia no- 
bili, sollers ingenio et prave facuridus, eandem Juliam in 
matrimonio M. Agrippae temeraverat. Nee is libidini 
finis ; traditam Tiberio pervicax adulter contumacia et 
odiis in maritum accendebat : litteraeque, quas Julia patri 
Augusto cum insectatione Tiberii scripsit, a Graccho com- 
positae credebantur. Igitur amotus Cercinam, Afriei maris 
insulam, quatuordecim annis exsilium toleravit. Tunc 
milites ad caedem missi invenere in prominenti littoris, 
nihil laetum opperientem : quorum adventu breve tempus 
petivit, ut supremo, mandata uxori Alliarice per litteras 
daret, cervicemque percussoribus obtulit, constantia mortis 
baud indignus Sempronio nomine ; vita degeneraverat. 
Quidam non Roma eos milites, sed ab L. Asprenate, pro- 
consule Africae, missos tradidere, auctore Tiberio, qui 
famam caedis posse in Asprenatem verti frustra speraverat. 

LIV. Idem annus novas caerimonias accepit, addito 
sodalium Augustalium sacerdotio, ut quondam T. Tatius 
retinendis Sabinorum sacris sodales Titios instituerat. 
Sorte ducti e primoribus civitatis unus et viginti : Tiberius 
Drususque et Claudius et Germanicus adjiciuntur. Ludos 
Augustales tunc primum coeptos turbavit discordia ex 
certamine histrionum : indulserat ei ludicro Augustus, dum 
Maecenati obtemperat efFuso in amorem Bathylli : neque 
ipse abhorrebat talibus studiis, et civile rebatur misceri 
voluptatibus vulgi. Alia Tiberio morum via : sed popu- 
lum, per tot annos molliter habitum, nondum audebat ad 
duriora vertere. 

LV. Druso Caesare, C. Norbano < onsulibus, decernitur 
Germanico triumphus manente bello ; quod quamquam in 



88 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

sestatem summa ope parabat, initio veiis et repentino in 
Cattos excursu praecepit : nam spes incesserat dissidere 
hostem in Arminium ac Segestem, insignem utrumque per- 
fidia in nos aut fide. Arminius turbator Germanise ; Se- 
gestes, parari rebellionem, saepe alias, et supremo convivio, 
post quod in arma itum, aperuit, suasitque Varo, ut se et 
Arminium et ceteros proceres vinciret; nihil ausuram plebem 
principibus a?notis, atque ipsi tempus fore, quo crirfiina et 
innoxios discerneret : sed Varus fato et vi Arminii cecidit, 
Segestes, quamquam consensu gentis in bellum tractus, 
discors manebat, auctis privatim odiis, quod Arminius 
filiam ejus, alii pactam, rapuerat : gener invisus inimici 
soceri : quaeque apud Concordes vincula caritatis, incita- 
menta irarum apud infensos erant. 

LVI. Igitur Germanicus quatuor iegiones, quinque 
auxiliarium millia, et tumultuarias catervas Germanorum 
cis Rhenum colentium, Caecinae tradit : totidem Iegiones, 
duplicem sociorum numerum ipse ducit : positoque castello 
super vestigia paterni praesidii, in monte Tauno, expeditum 
exercitum in Cattos rapit, L. Apronio ad munitiones viarum 
et fluminum relicto. Nam (rarum illi caelo) siccitate et 
amnibus modicis inoffensum iter properaverat ; imbresque 
et fluminum auctus regredienti metuebantur. Sed Cattis 
adeo improvisus advenit, ut, quod imbecillum aetate ac 
sexu, statim captum aut trucidatum sit. Juventus flumen 
Adranam nando tramiserat, Romanosque pontem ccep- 
tantes arcebant : dein tormentis sagittisque pulsi, tentatis 
frustra conditionibus pacis, cum quid am ad Germanicum 
perfugissent, reliqui, omissis pagis vicisque, in silvas dis- 
perguntur. Caesar, incenso Mattio (id genti caput), aperta 
populatus, vertit ad Rhenum, non auso hoste terga abeun- 
tium lacessere ; quod illi moris, quotiens astu magis quam 
per formidinem cessit. Fuerat animus Cheruscis juvaro 
Cattos: sed exterruit Caecina hue illuc ferens arma; et 
Marsos, congredi ausos, prospero prcelio cohibuit. 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. L VII.— L VIII. 89 

LVII. Neque multo post legati a Segeste venerunt, 
auxilium orantes adversus vim popularium, a quis circum- 
sedebatur ; validiore apud eos Arminio, quando bellum 
suadebat. Nam barbaris, quanto quis audacia promtus, 
tanto magis fidus, rebusque motis potior habetur. Addi 
derat Sesrestes legatis filium, nomine Serimundum : sed 
juvenis conscientia cunctabatur : quippe anno, quo Ger- 
rnaniae descivere, sacerdos apud Aram Ubiorum creatus, 
iuperat vittas, profugus ad rebelles : adductus tamen in 
spem clementiae Romanae pertulit patris mandata ; benig- 
neque exceptus, cum praesidio Gallicam in ripam missus 
est. Germanico pretium fuit convertere agmen : pugna- 
tumque in obsidentes, et ereptus Segestes magna cum pro- 
pinquorum et clientium manu. Inerant feminae nobiles ; 
inter quas uxor Arminii, eademque filia Segestis, mariti 
magis quam parentis animo, neque victa in lacrimas, neque 
voce supplex, compressis intra sinum manibus, gravid um 
uterum intuens. Ferebantur et spolia Varianae cladis, 
plerisque eorum, qui turn in deditionem veniebant, praeda? 
data. 

LVIII. Simul Segestes ipse, ingens visu et metcoria 
bonaa societatis impavidus. Verba ejus in hunc modum 
fuere : — Non hie mihi primus erga populum Romanum 
Jidei et constanticB dies : ex quo a divo Au gusto civitate 
donatus sum, amicos, inimicosque ex vestris utilitatihus de~ 
legi, neque odio patrice (quippe proditores etiam iis quos 
anteponunt invisi sunt), verum quia Romanis Germanisque 
idem conducere, et pacem quam bellum probabam. Ergo 
raptorem filia mea>, violatorem f&deris vestri, Arminium, 
apud Varum, qui turn exercitui prcesidebat, reum feci. 
Dilatus segnitia ducis, quia parum jircesidii in legibus erat, 
ut me et Ar minium et conscios vinciret flagitavi : testis ilia 
nox, mihi utinam potius novissima ! quce secuta sunt deflcri 
magis quam defendi possunt ; ceterum et injeci catenas Ar- 
tninio et afactione ejus injectas perpessus sum. At que uln 



00 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

■primum tui cojria, Vetera novis et quiet a turbidis anteliabeo, 
neque ob prcemium, sed lit me perfidia exsolvam, simul genti 
Germanoru?n idoncns conciliator, si pamitcntiam quam per- 
niciem maluerit. Pro juventa et errorefilii veniam precor : 
filiam necessitate hue adductam fateor : tuum erit consul- 
tare, utrum prcevaleat, quod ex Arminio concepit, an quod 
ex me genita est. Caesar, dementi responso, liberis pro 
pinquisque ejus incolumitatem, ipsi sedem vetere in pro- 
vincia pollicetur. Exercitum reduxit, nomenque impera- 
toris, auctore Tiberio, accepit. Arminii uxor virilis sexus 
stirpem edidit : educatus Ravennae puer, quo mox ludibrio 
conflictatus sit, in tempore memorabo. 

LIX. Fama dediti benigneque excepti Segestis vulgata, 
ut quibusque bellum invitis aut cupientibus erat, spe vel 
dolore accipitur. Arminiifm, super insitam violentiam, 
rapta uxor, subjectus servitio uxoris uterus, vecordem 
agebant : volitabatque per Cheruscos, arma in Segestem, 
arma in Caesarem poscens : neque probris temperabat: — 
Egregium patrem I magnum imperatorem ! fortem exerci- 
tum ! quorum tot manus unam mulierculam avexerint. 
Sibi tres legiones, totidem legatos procubuisse, Non cnim 
se proditione, neque adversus feminas gravidas, sed palam 
adversus armatos bellum tractare : cerni adhuc Germano- 
rum in lucis signa Romana, quce diis patriis suspenderit : 
coleret Segestcs victam ripam : redderet filio sacerdotium 
Romanum ; Germanos numquam satis accusaturos, quod 
inter Alb im et Rhenum virgas et secures et togam viderint : 
aliis gentibus ignorantia imperii Romani incxperta esse 
supplicia, nescia tributa : quce quando exuerint, irritusque 
discesserit ille inter numina dicatus Augustus, ille delectus 
Tiberius, ne imperitum adolesccntulum, ne seditiosum exer- 
citum pavescerent. Si patriam, parentes, antiqua viallcnt 
quam dominos et colonias novas, Arminium potius gloria 
ac libertatis, quam Segestem flagitiosa servitutis ducem % 
tequerentur. 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. LX.-LXI. 91 

LX. Conciti per haec non modo Cherusci, sed conter- 
minae gentes ; tractusque in partis Inguiomerus, Arminii 
patruus, veteri apud Romanes auctoritate ; unde major 
Caesari metus : et ne bellum mole una ingrueret, Caecinam, 
cum quadraginta cohorlibus Romanis, distrabendo hosti 
per Bructeros, ad flumen Amisiam mittit ; equitem Pedo 
praefectus finibus Frisiorum ducit. Ipse impositas navibus 
quatuor legiones per lacus vexit; simulque pedes, eques, 
classis apud praedictum aranem convenere. Cauci, cum 
auxilia pollicerentur, in commilitium asciti sunt. Bructe- 
ros sua urentes expedita cum manu L. Stertinius missu 
Germanici fudit : interque caedem et praedam reperit 
undevicesimae legionis aquilam, cum Varo amissam. Duc- 
tum inde agmen ad ultimos Bructerorum ; quantumque 
Amisiam et Luppiam amnes inter, vastatum, haud procul 
Teutoburgiensi saltu, in quo reliquiae Vari legionumque 
insepultae dicebantur. 

LXI. Igitur cupido Caesarem invadit solvendi suprema 
militibus ducique, permoto ad miserationem omni qui 
aderat exercitu, ob propinquos, amicos, denique ob casus 
bellorum et sortem hominum. Praemisso Caecina, ut oc- 
culta saltuum scrutaretur, pontesque et aggeres humido 
paludum et fallacibus campis imponeret, incedunt moestos 
locos visuque ac memoria deformes. Prima Vari castra, 
lato ambitu, et dimensis principiis, trium legionum manus 
ostentabant; dein semiruto vallo, humili fossa, accisae jam 
reliquiae consedisse intelligebantur: medio campi albentia 
ossa, ut fugerant, ut restiterant, disjecta vel aggerata : 
adjacebant fragmina telorum, equorumque art us, simul 
truncis arborum antefixa ora. Lucis propinquis barbarae 
arae, apud quas tribunos ac primorum ordinum centuriones 
mactaverant : et cladis ejus superstites, pugnam aut vin- 
cula elapsi, referebant hie cecidisse legatos ; illic raptas 
aquilas ; primum ubi vulnus Varo adactum ; ubi infelici 
iextra et suo ictu mortem invenerit; quo tribunali conciona- 



92 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

tits Arminius, quot patibula eaptivis, quce scrobvs ; utquc 
signis et aquilis per superb lam illuserit. 

LXII. Igitur Romanus qui aderat exercitus sextum post 
cladis annum, trium legionum ossa, nullo noscente, alienas 
reliquias an suorum humo tegeret, omnes ut conjunctos, 
ut consanguineos, aucta in hostem ira, mcesti simul et 
infensi condebant. Primum exstruendo tumulo cespitem 
Caesar posuit, gratissimo munere in defunctos, et praesenti- 
bus doloris socius. Quod Tiberio haud probatum, seu 
cuncta Germanici in deterius trahenti, sive exercitum 
imagine CvBSorum insepultorumque tardatum ad prcelia et 
formidolosiorem hostium credebat : neque imperatorem, 
augur alu et vetustissimis carimoniis praditum, attrectarr- 
feralia debuisse. 

LXIII. Sed Germanicus, cedentem in avia Arminiam 
secutus, ubi primum copia fuit, evehi equites, campumque, 
quern hostis insederat, eripi jubet. Arminius colligi suos 
et propinquare silvis monitos vertit repente : mox signum 
prorumpendi dedit iis, quos per saltus occultaverat. Tunc 
nova acie turbatus eques ; missaeque subsidiariae cohortes, 
etfugientium agmine impulsae, auxerant consternationem ; 
trudebanturque in paludem, gnaram vincentibus, iniquam 
nesciis, ni Caesar productas legiones instruxisset : inde 
hostibus terror, fiducia militi ; et manibus aequis abscessum. 
Mox, reducto ad Amisiam exercitu, legiones classe, ut 
advexerat, reportat; pars equitum litore oceani petere 
Rhenum jussa ; Caecina, qui suum militem ducebat, rao- 
nitus, quamquam notis itineribus regrederetur, Pontes 
longos quam maturrime superare. Augustus is trames 
vastas inter paludes, et quondam a L. Domitio aggeratus: 
cetera limosa, tenacia gravi coeno, aut rivis incerta erant ; 
circum silvae, paulatim acclives: quas turn Arminius impie- 
vit, compendiis viarum et cito agmine onustum sarcinis 
armisque militem cum antevenisset. Caecinae dubitanti, 
quonam modo ruptos vetustate pontes rep on ere t, simulque 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. LXIII.-LXV. 93 

propulsaret hostem, castra metari in loco p]acuit, ut opus 
et alii prcelium inciperent. 

LXIV. Barbari perfringere stationes, seque inferre 
munitoribus nisi, lacessunt, circumgrediuntur, occursant. 
Miscetur operantium bellantiumque clamor; et cuncta 
pariter Romanis adversa; locus uligine profunda, idem ad 
gradum instabilis, procedentibus lubricus; corpora gravia 
loricis ; neque librare pila inter undas poterant. Contra 
Cheruscis sueta apud paludes proelia, procera membra, 
hastae ingentes ad vulnera facienda quamvis procul. Nox 
demum inclinantes jam legiones adversae pugnae exemit. 
Germani, ob prospera indefessi, ne turn quidem sumta 
quiete, quantum aquarum circum surgentibus jugis oritur, 
vertere in subjecta; mersaque hurao, et obruto, quod ef- 
fectum operis, duplicatus militi labor. Quadragesimum 
id stipendium Caecina parendi aut imperitandi habebat ; 
secundarum ambiguarumque rerum sciens, eoque interri- 
tus. Igitur futura volvens, non aliud reperit, quam ut 
hostem silvis coerceret, donee saucii,quantumque gravioris 
agminis, anteirent : nam medio montium et paludum por- 
rigebatur planities, quae tenuem aciem pateretur. Deli- 
guntur legiones, quinta dextro lateri, unaetvicesima in 
laevum, primani ducendum ad agmen, vicesimanus ad- 
versum secuturos. 

LXV. Nox per diversa inquies; cum barbari festis 
epulis, laeto cantu aut truci sonore subjecta vallium ac 
resultantes saltus complerent ; apud Romanos invalidi 
ignes, interruptae voces, atque ipsi passim adjacerent vallo, 
oberrarent tentoriis, insomnes magis quam pervigiles : 
ducemque terruit dira quies : nam Quintilium Varum, 
sanguine oblitum et paludibus emersum, cernere et audire 
visus est, velut vocantem, non tamen obsecutus, et mauum 
intendentis repulisse. Coepta luce, missae in latera le- 
giones, metu an ccntumacia, locum deseruere : capto pro- 
pere campo huraentia ultra* Neque tamen Arminius k 



94 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

quamquam libero incursu, statim prorupit : sed, ut luesere 
coeno fossisque impedimenta, turban circum milites, incer- 
tus signorum ordo, utque tali in tempore, sibi quisquc 
properus et lentae adversum imperia aures, irrumpere 
Germanos jubet, clamitans, En Varus et codem iterum fato 
vinctce legiones ! Simul haec, et cum delectis scindit ag- 
men, equisque raaxime vulnera ingerit. Illi sanguine suo 
et lubrico paludurn lapsantes, excussis rectoribus, disjicere 
obvios, proterere jacentes: plurimus circa aquiias labor, 
quae neque adversum ferri ingruentia tela neque figi 
limosa humo poterant. Caecina, dum sustentat aciem, 
sufFosso equo delapsus circumveniebatur, ni prima legio 
sese opposuisset. Juvit hostium aviditas, omissa caede, 
praedam sectantium : enisaeque legiones vesperascente die 
in aperta et solida. Neque is miseriarum finis : struen- 
dum vallum, petendus agger : amissa magna ex parte, per 
quae egeritur humus, aut exciditur cespes : non tentoria 
manipulis, non fomenta sauciis : infectos coeno aut cruore 
cibos dividentes, funestas tenebras, et tot hominum mili- 
bus unum jam reliquum diem lamentabantur. 

LXVI. Forte equus, abruptis vinculis vagus et clamore 
territus, quosdam occurrentium obturbavit : tanta inde 
consternatio irrupisse Germanos credentium, ut cuncti 
ruerent ad portas, quarum decumana maxime petebatur, 
aversa hosti .et fugientibus tutior. Caecina, comperto 
vanam esse formidinem, cum tamen neque auctoritate, 
neque precibus, ne manu quidem, obsistere aut retinere 
militem quiret, projectus in limine portae, miseratione de 
mum, quia per corpus legati eundum erat, clausit viam : si 
mul tribuni et centurionesfalsum pavorem esse docuerunt 

LXVIL Tunc contractos in principia, jussosque dictu 
cum silentio accipere, temporis ac necessitatis monet: 
Unam in armis salutem; sed ea consilio temperanda, ma- 
nendumque intra vallum, donee expugnandi hostes spe pro- 
p-ius succederent ; mox undique erumpendum ; ilia eruptions 



r 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. LXV1I.— LXIX. 95 

ad Rhenum perveniri: quodsi fugerent, plures silvas, p>ro- 
fundas 7nagis paludcs, scevitiam hostium superesse ; at 
victorious decus, gloriam : qiice clomi cara, qua in castris 
honesta, memorat : reticuit de adversis. E(juos dehinc, 
orsus a suis, legatorum tribunorumaue. nulla ambitione. 
fortissimo cuique bellatoii tradit, ut hi, mox pedes, in 
hostem invaderent. 

LXVIII. Haud minus inquies Germanus spe, cupidine, 
et diversis ducum sententiis agebat : Arminio, sinerent 
cgredi, egressosque rursum per humida et impedita circum- 
venire?it, suadente : atrociora Inguiomero et laeta barbaris, 
ut vallum armis ambirent: promtam expugnationem, plures 
captivos, incorruptam prcedam fore, Igitur orta die pro- 
ruunt fossas, injiciunt crates, summa valli prensant, raro 
super milite et quasi ob metum defixo. Postquam haesere 
munimentis, datur cohortibus signum, cornuaque ac tubae 
concinuere : exin clamore et impetu tergis Germanorum 
circumfunduntur, exprobrantes non hie silvas, nee paludes, 
sed acquis locis cequos deos. Hosti facile excidium et pau- 
cos ac semermos cogitanti sonus tubarum, fulgor armorum, 
quanto inopina, tanto majora offunduntur : cadebantque, 
ut rebus secundis avidi, ita adversis incauti. Arminius 
integer Inguiomerus post grave vulnus pugnamdeseruere: 
vulgus trucidatum est donee ira et dies permansit. Nocte 
demura reversae legiones, quamvis plus vulnerum, eadem 
ciborum egestas fatigaret, vim, sauitatem, copias cuncta in 
victoria habuere. 

LXIX. Pervaserat interim circumventi exercitus fama, 
et iwfesto Germanorum agmine Gallias peti : ac ni Agrip- 
pina impositum Rheno pontem solvi prohibuisset, erant 
qui id flagitium formidine auderent : sed femina, ingens 
animi, munia ducis per eos dies induit, militibusque, ut 
quis inops aut saucius, vestem et fomenta dilargita est 
Tradit C. Plinius, Germanicorum bellorum scriptor, ste- 
tisse apud principium pontis, iaudes et grates reversis 



96 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

legionibus habentem. Id Tiberii animum altius penetra- 
vit: non enim nmplices eas euras, nee adversus externos 
militem guceri : niJiil relictum imperatoribus ubi femina 
manipulos intervisat, signa adeat, largitione tentet ; tarn- 
quam parum ambitiose filium duels gregali habitu circum- 
ferat, Caesarem^we Caligulam appcllari velit : potiore?n 
jam apud exercitus Agrippi?iam, quam legates, quam duces : 
compressam a muliere seditionem, cui nomen principle obsls- 
tere non quiverit. Accendebat haec onerabatque Sejanus, 
peritia raorum Tiberii, odia in longum jaciens, quae re 
conderet auctaque promeret. 

LXX. At Germanicus legionum, quas navibus vexerat, 
secundam et quartam decimam, itinere terrestri P. Vitellio 
ducendas tradit, quo levior classis vadoso mari innaret vel 
reciproco sideret. Vitellius primum iter sicca bumo aut 
modice allabente aestu quietum habuit: mox impulsu 
aquilonis, simul sidere aequinoctii, quo rnaxime tumescit 
oceanus, rapi agique agmen. Et opplebantur terrae : 
eadem freto, litori, campis facies : neque discerni poterant 
incerta ab solidis, brevia a profundis. Sternuntur flucti- 
bus, hauriuntur gurgitibus jumenta, sarcinae ; corpora ex- 
auima iuterfluunt, occursant. Permiscentur inter se mani- 
puli, modo pectore, modo ore tenus exstantes, aliquando 
subtracto solo disjecti aut obruti : non vox et mutui hor- 
tatus juvabant, adversante unda : nihil strenuus ab ignavo, 
sapiens ab rudi, consilia a casu differre : cuncta pari vio- 
lentia involvebantur. Tandem Vitellius in editiora enisus 
eodem agmen subduxit : pernoctavere sine utensilibus, 
sine igni, magna pars nudo aut mu'eato corpore ; baud 
minus miserabiles quam quos hostis circumsidet : quippe 
illis etiam honestae mortis usus, his inglorium exitium. 
Lux reddidit terram; penetratumque ad amnemUnsingim, 
quo Caesar classe contenderat. Irnpositas deinde legiones, 
vagante fama submersas: nee fides salutis, antequair 
Caesarem exercitumque reducem videre. 



ANNALIUAI L.1BER PRIMUS. CAP. LXXI.— LXXIII. 97 

LXXI. Jam Stertinius ad accipiendum in deditionem 
begimerum, fratrem Segestis, praemissus, ipsum et filium 
ejus in civitatem Ubiorum perduxerat. Data utrique ve- 
nia; facile Segimero, cunctantius filio, quia Quintilii Vari 
corpus illusisse dicebatur. Ceterum ad supplenda exerci- 
tus damna certavere Galliae, Hispaniae, Italia, quod cuique 
promtvon, arma, equos, aurum, ofFerentes : quorum laudato 
studio Germanicus, armis modo et equis ad bellum sum 
tis, propria pecunia militem juvit : utque cladis memoriam 
etiam comitate leniret, circumire saucios, facta singulorum 
extollere; vulnera intuens, alium spe, alium gloria, cunctos 
alloquio et cura sibique et prcelio firmabat. 

LXXII. Decreta eo anno triumphalia insignia A. 
Caecinae, L. Apronio, C. Silio, ob res cum Germanico 
gestas. Nomen patris patrice Tiberius, a populo saepius 
ingestum, repudiavit ; neque in acta sua jurari, quamquam 
censente senatu, permisit : cuncta mortalium incerta ; 
quantoque plus adeptus foret, tanto se magis in luhrico 
dictitans. Non tamen ideo faciebat fidem civilis animi : 
nam legem raajestatis reduxerat ; cui nomen apud veteres 
idem, sed alia in judicium veniebant : si quis proditione 
exercitum, aut plebem seditionibus, denique male gesta 
re publica majestatem populi Romani minuisset. Facta 
arguebantur, dicta impune erant. Primus Augustus cog- 
nitionem de famosis libellis, specie legis ejus, tractavit, 
commotus Cassii Severi libidine, qua viros feminasque 
illustres procacibus scriptis diffamaverat : mox Tiberius, 
consultante Pompeio Macro praetore, an judicia majestatis 
redder entur ? exercendas leges esse, respondit. Hunc quo- 
que asperavere carmina, incertis auctoribus vulgata, in 
saevitiam superbiamque ejus et discordem cum matre 
animum. 

LXXIII. Haud pigebit referre in Falanio et "Rubric, 
modicis equitibus Romanis, praetentata crimina : ut, qui 
Sus initiis, quanta Tiberii arte, gravissimum exitium 

E 



98 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

irrepserit, dein repressum sit, postremo arserit cunctaque 
corripuerit, noscatur. Falanio objiciebat accusator, quod 
inter cultores Augusti, qui per omnes domes, in modum 
collegiorum, habebantur, Cassium quemdam, mimum cor- 
pore infamem, adscivisset : quodque, venditis hortis, statuam 
Augusti simul mancipasset. Rubrio crimini dabatur vio- 
latum perjurio numen Augusti. Quae ubi Tiberio notuere, 
scripsit consulibus : non ideo decretum patri suo ccelum, ut 
in perniciem civium is lionor verteretur. Cassium histrio- 
nem solitum inter alios ejusdem artis interesse ludis, quos 
mater sua in memoriam Augusti sac? 'asset ; nee contra re- 
ligion es fieri, quod effigies ejus, ut alia numinum simulacra., 
venditionibus hortorum et domuum accedant. Jusjurandum 
perinde aistimandum quam si Jovem fefellisset : deorum 
injurias dis curat. 

LXXIV. Nee multo post Granium Marcellum praeto- 
rem Bithyniae, quaestor ipsius, Caepio Crispinus,majestatis 
postulavit, subscribente Romano Hispone : qui formam 
vita? iniit, quam postea celebrem miseriae temporum et 
audaciae hominum fecerunt. Nam egens, ignotus, inquies, 
dum occultis libellis saevitiae principis arrepit, mox clans- 
simo cuique periculum facessit, potentiam apud unum. 
odium apud omnes adeptus, dedit exemplum, quod secuti, 
ex pauperibus divites, ex contemptis metuendi, perniciem 
aliis ac postremum sibi invenere. Sed Marcellum in- 
simulabat sinistros de Tiberio sermones liabuisse: inevitable 
crimen, cum ex moribus principis fcedissima quaeque deli- 
geret accusator, objectaretque reo : nam, quia vera erant, 
etiam dicta credebantur. Addidit Hispo, statuam Marcelli 
altius quam Casarum sitam ; et alia in statua, amputato 
capite Augusti, effigiem Tiberii inditam : ad quod exarsit 
adeo, ut rupta taciturnitate proclamaret, se quoque in ca 
causa laturum sententiam palam et juratum : quo ceteris 
eadem necessitas fieret. Manebant etiam turn vestigia 
morientis libertatis. Igitur Cnaeus Piso, Quo, inquit, loco 



ANNaLIUM liber PRIMUS. CAP. LXXIV.-LXXVI. 99 

censebis, Ccesar ? si primus, habebo quod sequar ; si post 
omneS) vereor ne imprudens dissentiam. Permotus his, 
quantoque incautius efferverat, poenitentia patiens, tulit 
absolvi reum criminibus majestatis : de pecuniis repetun- 
dis ad recuperatores itum est. 

LXXV. Nee patrum cognitionibus satiatus, judiciis 
assidebat in cornu tribunalis, ne praetorem curuli depel- 
leret ; multaque eo coram adversus ambitum et potentium 
preces constituta : sed dum veritati consulitur, libertas cor- 
rumpebatur. Inter quae Pius Aurelius, senator, questus, 
mole publicce vice ductuquc aquarum labejactas cedes suas y 
auxilium patrum invocabat : resistentibus aerarii praetori- 
bus, subvenit Caesar, pretiumque aedium Aurelio tribuit, 
erogandae per honesta pecuniae cupiens : quam virtutem 
diu retinuit, cum ceteras exueret. Propertio Celeri, prae- 
torio, veniam ordinis ob paupertatem petenti, decies sester 
tium largitus est, satis comperto, paternas ei angustias 
esse : tentantis eadem alios probare causam senatui jussit, 
cupidine severitatis, in his etiam, quae rite faceret, acerb- 
us : unde ceteri silentium et paupertatem confess:one et 
beneficio praeposuere. 

LXXVI. Eodem anno continuis imbribus auctus Tibe- 
ris plana urbis stagnaverat : relabentem secuta est aedifi- 
ciorum et hominum strages. Igitur censuit Asinius Gallus, 
ut llbri Sibyllini adirentur : renuit Tiberius, perinde divina 
humanaque obtegens. Sed remedium coercendi fluminis 
Ateio Capitoni et L. Arruntio mandatum. Achaiam ac 
Macedoniam, onera deprecantes, levari in praesens procon- 
sular! imperio, tradique Caesari placuit. Edendis gladia- 
toribus, quos Germanic! fratris ac suo nomine obtulerat, 
Drusus praesedit, quamquam vili sanguine nimis gaudens : 
quod vulgo formidolosum, et pater arguisse dicebatur. 
Cur abstinuevit spectaculo ipse, varie trahebant: alii taedio 
ccetus, quidam tristitia ingenii, et metu comparationis, 

quia Augustus counter interfuisset. Non crediderim ad 
t k.cr 0, ; 



100 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

ostentandam saevitiam movendasquepopulioffensiones con- 
cessam filio materiem : quamquam id quoque dictum est. 

LXXVII. At theatri licentia, proximo priore anno 
ccepta, gravius turn erupit, occisis non modo e plebe, sed 
militibas et centurione, vulnerato tribuno praetoriae cohor- 
tis, dum probra in magistratus et dissensionem vulgi pro- 
hibent. Actum de ea seditione apud patres, dicebanturque 
sententiae ut prcetoribus jus virgarum in Jiistriones esset : 
intercessitHaterius Agrippa tribunus plebei, increpitusque 
est Asinii G-alli oratione, silente Tiberio, qui ea simulacra 
libertatis senatui praebebat. Yaluit tamen intercessio, 
quia divus Augustus immunes verberum Jiistriones quondam 
responderat, neque fas Tiberio infringere dicta ejus. De 
modo lucaris, et adversus lasciviam fautorum, multa decer- 
nuntur : ex quis maxime insignia : ne domos pantomimo- 
rum senator introiret ; ne egredientes in publicum equites 
Romani cingerent, aut alibi quam in tJieatro spectarentur ; 
et spectantium immodestiam exsilio multandi potestas prce- 
toribus Jieret. 

LXXVIII. Templum ut in colonia Tarraconensi stru- 
eretur Augusto petentibus Hispanis permissum ; datumque 
m omnes provincias exemplum. Centesimam rerum 
venalium post bella civilia institutam, deprecante populo, 
edixit Tiberius, militare cerarium eo subsidio niti : simul 
imparem oneri rem publicam, nisi vicesimo militice anno 
veterani dimitterentur : ita proximae seditionis male con- 
Bulta, quibus sedecim stipendiorum finem expresserant, 
abolita in posterum. 

LXXIX. Actum deinde in senatu ab Arruntio et Ateio, 
an ob moderandas Tiberis exundationes verterentur flumi- 
oa et lacus, per quos augescit : auditaeque municipiorum 
et coloniarum legationes, orantibus Florentinis, ne Clanis, 
wlito alveo demotus, in amnem Arnum transferretur, idque 
ipsis perniciem afferret. Congruentia his Interamnates 
disseruere: pessum ituros fecundissimos Italice campos % si 



ANNALIUM LIBER PRIMUS. CAP. LXXIX -LXXXI. 101 

amnis Nar (id enim parabatur) in rivos diductus supp»-~ 
stagnavissct. Nee Reatini silebant, Velinum lacum, qua 
in Narera effunditur, obstrui recusantes, quippe in adja- 
centia erupturum : optume rebus mortalium consuluisse na- 
turam, qucs sua ora fluminibus, suos cursus, utque originem, 
ita fines dederit : spectandas etiam religiones sociorum, qui 
sacra et lucos et aras patriis amnibus dicaverint : quip 
ipsum Tiberim nolle, prorsus accolis fiuviis orbatum, minorc 
gloria fluere. Seu preces coloniarum, seu difficultas ope- 
rura, si"^ superstitio valuit lit in sententiam Pisonis con- 
cederetur, qui nil mutandum censuerat. 

LXXX. Prorogatur Poppasc Sabino provincia Mcesia, 
additis Achaia ac Macedonia. Id quoque morum Tiberii 
fuit, continuare imperia, ac plerosque ad finem vitae in 
iisdem exercitibus aut jurisdictionibus habere. Causae 
variae traduntur : alii tcedio novce curce semel placita pro 
ceternis servavisse ; quidam inridia, ne plures fruerenUir : 
sunt qui existiment, ut callidum ejus ingenium, ita anxium 
judicium: neque enim eminentes virtutes sectabatur, et 
rursum vitia oderat : ex optimis periculum sibi, a pessimis 
dedecus publicum metuebat : qua haesitatione postremo 
eo provectus est, ut mandaverit quibusdam provincias, 
quos egredi urbe non erat passurus. 

LXXXI. De comitiis consularibus, quae turn primum, 
illo principe, ac deinceps fuere, vix quidquam firmare 
ausim : adeo diversa non modo apud auctores, sed in 
ipsius orationibus reperiuntur. Modo, subtractis candi- 
datorum nominibus, originem cujusque et vitam et sti- 
pendia descripsit, ut, qui forent, intelligeretur : aliquando, 
ea quoque significatione subtracta, candidatos hortatus 
ne ambitu comitia turbarent, suam ad id curam pollicitus 
est : plerumque eos tantum apad se prqfessos, disseruit, 
quorum nomina consulibus edidisset : posse et alios pro- 
Jiteri, si gratice aut meritis confiderent : speciosa verbis, 
re inania, aut subdola ; quantoque majore libertatis im- 
agine tegebantur, tanto eruptura ad infensius servitium. 



C. CORNEL 1 1 TACIT I 



ANNALIUM 



LIBER SECUNDUS. 



C. CORNEL II TACIT I 

ANNALIUM 

LIBER SECUNDUS 



SUMMARY OF BOOK II. 
Chap. I. Commotions in the East. II- Vonones sent from Rome to reign 
over the Parthians at their own request. III., IV. He is deposed by 
the Parthians. — Artabanns ascends the throne. — Vonones flies to the 
Armenians, and is received as their king-; but is soon dethroned, and 
guarded as a prisoner by Silanus, the governor of Syria. V. Tiberius, 
under feigned pretences, thinks of recalling G-ermanicus from the com- 
mand of the forces in Germany. — The latter meanwhile makes prepara- 
tions for active movements against the enemy. VI. Fleet of Germani- 
cus. — The Rhine. VII. Irruption into the territory of the Catti. — The 
altar of Drusus rebuilt. VIII. Canal of Drusus. — River Amisia. — The 
Amsivarii renew hostilities and are punished. IX. Interview between 
Arminius aud his brother Flavus. X. Warm altercation between 
them. XI. The Romans cross the Visurgis. — Batavian auxiliaries in 
danger. — Death of Cariovalda their leader. XII. Germanicus seeks to 
ascertain the sentiments and inclinations of his men. XIII. The Ger- 
mans strive by tempting offers to induce the Romans to desert. — They 
advance against the Roman camp, but again withdraw. XIV. Dream 
of Gennanicus. — He addresses the soldiers. XV. Addresses of Ar- 
minius and the German chieftains to their followers. XVI. Arrange- 
ment of the two armies. XVII. Omen of victory. — Flight and slaugh- 
ter of the Germans. XVIII. Trophy erected. XIX. The Germans 
resolve again to try the hazard of a battle. XX. A second conflict 
XXI. Victory declares at length for the Romans, though the Roman 
cavalry fought with undecided success. XXII. Trophy and inscription. 
XXIII. Some of the legions return by land to winter quarters. — Ger- 
manicus sails with the rest down the Amisia to the ocean. — Fleet over- 
taken by a storm. — Alarm of the soldiery. — Fleet dispersed. XXIV. 
Disasters and sufferings resulting from the storm. — Fleet subsequently 
refitted. — Aid thus afforded to those who had been shipwrecked on the 
islands. XXV. The Germans, on receiving intelligence of these di» 

E 2 



100 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

asters, begin to renew the war. — They are attacked and defeated by 
the Romans. — The eagle of one of the legions of Varus recovered. 
XXVI. The Roman troops go into winter quarters. — Germanicus re- 
called by Tiberius. XXVII. Libo Drusus accused of conspiring against 
the state. XXVIII.-XXXI. Trial before the Senate.— Libo commits 
suicide. XXXII. Estate of the deceased divided among the informers. 
— Conduct of the Senate on this occasion. — Astrologers, &c, banished 
from Italy. — Two of the number put to death. XXXIII. The luxury 
of the times taken into consideration by the Senate. XXXIV. Lucius 
Piso breaks out with vehemence against the reigning vices of the 
times. — Retires from the Senate. — Haughty conduct of Urgulania. 
XXXV. Debate in the Senate on adjourning all public business until 
the return of Tiberius to Rome. XXXVI. Motion of Asinius Gallus 
respecting the election of magistrates ; which is opposed by Tiberi- 
us. XXXVII. Address of Hortalus to the Senate, requesting relief. 
XXXVIII. Harsh speech of Tiberius on the occasion. — Expresses his 
willingness, however, to aid the children ofUortalus. XXXIX. Daring 
conduct of the slave Clemens, and his design to earn, 7 off Agrippa from 
Planasia. — Attempts to personate the murdered prince. XL. Is seized 
and executed. XLL Public monuments erected and dedicated at 
Rome. — Germanicus enjoys a triumph for his victories over the Ger- 
mans. XLII. Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, invited to Rome. — Ar- 
raigned before the Senate. — Dies. XLIII. Troubles in the East. — 
Germanicus commissioned to quell them. — Syria given to Piso. XLIV. 
Drusus sent to command the army jn Illyricum. — Intestine quarrels 
among the Germans. XL V. Arminius takes the field again at the head 
of the Cherusci and their allies. — Addresses his followers. XL VI. 
Harangue of Maroboduus on the other side. — Battle. — Maroboduus de 
feated. — Retires among the Marcomanni, and thence sends a deputation 
to Tiberius for aid. — Aid refused. XL VII. Twelve principal cities in 
Asia destroyed by an earthquake. — Relief extended to them by Tibe- 
rius. XL VIII. Besides these acts of public munificence, Tiberius dis- 
plays great liberality in matters of a private nature. XLIX. Temples 
dedicated. L. Apuleia Varilla accused of high treason and of adultery. 
LI. Warm contest for the appointment of a praetor, the office having 
become vacant by the death of Vipsanius Gallus. LII. War kindled up 
in Africa by Tacfarinas the Numidian, and by Mazippa, leader of the 
Mauritani. — Defeated by Camillus. — Triumphal ornaments decreed to 
Camillus by the Senate. LIII. Germanicus visits various parts of 
Greece. LIV. Passes over into Asia. — Consults the oracle of the Cla- 
rian Apollo. LV. Piso and his wife Plancina attempt by secret arts to 
gain over the affections of the soldiery. LVI. Germanicus places Zeno 
on the throne of Armenia. LVII. Insolent demeanor of Piso. LVIII. 
Vonones removed from Syria. UX. Germanicus visits Egypt. — Tibe- 
rius finds fault with this. LX. Canopus. — Thebes. LXI. Statue of 
Memnon. — Pyramids, &c. LXII. Dissensions among the Germans 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. I. 107 

liXHI. Maroboduus, driven oat by Catualda, flees for refuge to the 
Romans. — Catualda subsequently experiences a like reverse of fortune, 
and finds a similar refuge. LXIV.-LXVII. Rhescuporis, king of 
Thrace, murders his nephew, and is sent a prisoner to Rome. — He is 
ordered to Alexandrea, and there put to death. L XVIII. Vonones at- 
tempts to escape out of Cilicia ; and being taken, is killed by a veteran 
soldier. LXIX. Germanicus returns from Egypt. — Animosities between 
him and Piso. — Germanicus is seized with a fit of illness ; he recovers, 
but has a relapse. — Poison suspected. LXX. Indignation of Germani- 
cus. — Writes to Piso disclaiming all friendship and connection with him, 
and commands him to leave the province. LXXI. Germanicus takes 
leave of his friends. LXXII. His last advice to his wife.— His death, 
and the grief of all ranks of men. LXXIII. His funeral and character 
LXXIV. Sentius takes upon him the government of Syria. LXXV 
Agrippina embarks with the urn of Germanicus. — Piso, while at the 
island of Cos, hears of the death of Germanicus. — His joy at the tidings. 
LXXVI. The centurions flock to Piso, and exhort him to resume the 
command that had been taken from him. — A council of his friends call- 
ed. — His son is for his returning to Rome without delay. LXXVI1 
Domitius Celer is of a contrary opinion. LXXVIII. Piso follows the 
advice of Domitius, and orders the latter to sail for Syria. LXXIX. 
Piso's fleet meets that of Agrippina near the coast of Lycia. LXXX. 
Piso seizes the castle of Celenderis in Cilicia. — Draws out his followers 
for battle. — Is defeated by Sentius. LXXXI. Piso capitulates. — Sen- 
tius allows him a safe return to Rome. L XXXII. Grief and loud 
complaints at Rome on hearing of the illness of Germanicus. — Strong 
expression of public feeling when the news of his death arrived. 
LXXXIII. Honors decreed to the memory of Germanicus. LXXXIV. 
Livia, the wife of Drusus, delivered of twins. — Joy of Tiberius. LXXXV. 
Laws to restrain female licentiousness. LXXXVI. Choice of a new 
Vestal virgin in the room of Occia deceased. LXXXVII. Tiberius 
rejects the title of Father of his country. LXXXVIII. Arminius dies 
in Germany, through the treachery of his own relations. — Charactef 
of that chieftain. 



These events embrace a period of four years, 

A.U.C. -A..D. Consuls. 

_„__ VTV .,„ T. Statilius Sisenna Taurus. 

DkjLLjLIX.. Id. _ _, ., . _ „ 

L. Scnbomus Libo. 

1 



DCCLXX. 17. 



C. Caelius Rufus. 

L. Pomponius Flaccus. 



"nrrr yyt is Tiberius Caesar Augustus (3d time). \ 

Germanicus Caesar (2d time). J 



DCCLXXII. 19. 



M. Junius Silanus. 
L. Norbanus Flaccus, 



1 



108 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

I. Sisenna Statilio Tauro, L. Libone Coss., mota Gri* 
entis regna provinciaeque Romanae, initio apud Partboa 
orto, qui petitum Roma acceptumque regem, quamvia 
gentis Arsacidarum, ut externum aspernabantur. Is fuit 
Vonones, obses Augusto datus a Phraate. Nam Phraates, 
quamquam depulisset exercitus ducesqueRomanos, cuncta 
venerantium officia ad Augustum verterat, partemque pro- 
lis firmandae amicitiae miserat ; baud perinde nostri metu,, 
quam fidei popularium diffisus. 

II. Post finem Pbraatis et sequentium regum, ob inter- 
nas caedes venere in Urbem legati a primoribus Partbis, 
qui Vononem, vetustissimum liberorum ejus, accirent. 
Magnificum id sibi credidit Caesar, auxitque opibus. Et 
accepere barbari laetantes, ut ferme ad nova imperia. 
Mox subit pudor, degeneravisse Parthos : petitum alio ex 
orbe regem^ hostium artihus infectum : jam inter provincias 
Ro?na?ias solium Arsacidarum haberi, darique. Ubi illam 
gloriam trucidantium Crassum, exturbantium Antonium ; 
si mancipium Ccesaris, tot per annos servitutem perpessum, 
Partliis imperitet ? Accendebat dedignantes et ipse, di- 
versus a majorum institutis, raro venatu, segni equorum 
cura; quotiens per urbes incederet, lecticae gestamine 
fastuque erga patrias epulas. Irridebantur et Graeci 
comites, ac vilissima utensilium annulo clausa : sed prompti 
aditus, obvia comitas, ignotae Partbis virtutes, nova vitia ; 
et quia ipsorum moribus aliena, perinde odium pravis et 
bonestis. 

III. Igitur Artabanus, Arsacidarum e sanguine, apud 
Dabas adultus, excitur, primoque congressu fusus, reparat 
vires, regnoque potitur. Victo Vononi perfugium Ar- 
menia fuit, vacua tunc, interque Partborum et Romanas 
opes infida, ob scelus Antonii, qui Artavasden, regem Ar- 
meniorum, specie amicitiae illectum, dein catenis onera- 
tum, postremo interfecerat. Ejus Alius Artaxias, memoria 
patris nobis infensus, Arsacidarum vi eeque regnumque 



ANNAL1UM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. III.— VI. 10b 

tutatus est. Occiso Artaxia per dolum propinquorum, 
datus a Caesare Armeniis Tigranes, deductusque in reg- 
num a Tiberio Nerone. Nee Tigrani diuturnum impe 
rium fuit, neque liberis ejus, quamquam sociatis, more 
externo, in matrimonium regnumque. 

IV. Dein jussu Augusti impositus Artavasdes, et non 
sine clade nostra dejectus. Turn C. Caesar componendae 
Armeniae deligitur. Is Ariobarzanem, origine Medum, 
ob insignem corporis form am et praeclarum animum, vo- 
lentibus Armeniis praefecit. Ariobarzane morte fortuita 
absumto, stirpem ejus haud toleravere : tentatoque feminae 
imperio, cui nomen Erato, eaque brevi pulsa, incerti 
solutique, et magis sine domino quam in libertate, pro- 
fugum Vononem in regnum accipiunt. Sed ubi minitari 
Artabanus, et parum subsidii in Armeniis, vel, si nostra 
vi defenderetur, bellum adversus Parthos sumendum erat; 
rector Syriae, Creticus Silanus, excitum custodia circum- 
dat, manente luxu et regie nomine. Quod ludibrium ut 
effugere agitaverit Vonones, in loco reddemus. 

V. Ceterum Tiberio haud ingratum accidit, turbari res 
Orientis ; ut ea specie Germanicum suetis legionibus ab- 
straheret, novisque provinciis impositum, dolo simul et 
casibus objectaret. At ille, quanto acriora in eum studia 
militum, et aversa patrui voluntas, celerandae victoriae in- 
tentior, tractare prceliorum vias, et quae sibi tertium jam 
annum belligeranti saeva vel prospera evenissent : Fundi 
Germanos acie etjustis locis : juvari silvis, paludibus, brevi 
cestate et prcematura hieme : suum militem haud perinde 
vulneribus, quam spatiis itinerum, damno armorum affici : 
fessas Gallias ministrandis equis : longum impedimento?'um 
agmen opportunum ad insidias, defensantibus iniquum. At, 
si mare intretur, promt am ipsis possessionem, et hostibus 
ignotam : simul bellum maturius incipi, legionesque et com- 
meatus pariter velii : integrum equitem equosque per ora et 
alveos fluminum media in Ger mania fore. 



HO C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

VI. Igitur nuc intendit : missis ad census Galliarum P. 
Vitellio et C. Antio, Silius et Anteius et Caecina fabri- 
candae classi praeponuntur. Mille naves sufficere visae, 
properataeque : aliae breves, angusta puppi proraque, et 
lato utero, quo facilius fluctus tolerarent : quaedam planae 
carinis, ut sine noxa siderent : plures appositis utrimque 
gubernaculis, converso ut repente remigio hinc vel illinc 
appellerent. Multae pontibus stratae, super quas tormenta 
veherentur, simul aptae ferendis equis aut commeatui, 
velis habiles, citae remis, augebantur alacritate militum in 
speciem ac terrorem. Insula Batavorum, in quam con- 
venirent, praedicta, ob faciles appulsus, accipiendisque 
copiis et transmittendum ad bellum opportuna. Nam 
Rhenua uno alveo continuus, aut modicas insulas circum- 
veniens, apud principium agri Batavi velut in duos amnes 
dividitur, servatque nomen et violentiam cursus, qua Ger- 
raaniam praevehitur, donee Oceano misceatur : ad Galli- 
cam ripam latior et placidior affluens ; verso cognomento 

Vahalem accolae dicunt ; mox id quoque vocabulum rau< 
tat Mosa flumine, ejusque immenso ore eundem in Oce- 
an um effunditur. 

VII. Sed Caesar, dum adiguntur naves, Silium legatum 
cum expedita manu irruptionem in Cattos facere jubet: 
ipse audito, castellum Luppiae flumini appositum obsideri. 
sex legiones eo duxit. Neque Silio ob subitos imbres 
aliud actum, quam ut modicam praedam, et Arpi, principis 
Cattorum, conjugem filiamque raperet : neque Caesari 
copiam pugnae obsessores fecere, ad famam adventus ejus 
dilapsi. Tumulum tamen,nuper Varianis legionibus struc- 
tu m, et veterem aram Druso sitam disjecerant. Restituit 
aram, honorique patris princeps ipse cum legionibus decu- 
currit, tumulum iterare haud visum. Et cuncta inter cas- 
tellum Alisonem ac Rhenum novis limitihus aggeribusque 
permunita. 

VIII. Jamque classis advenerat, cum, praemisso com- 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. VUl.-X. Ill 

meatu, et distributis in legiones ac socios navibus, fossam, 
cui DrusiancB nomen, ingressus, precatusque Drusum pa- 
trera, ut se, eadem ausu?n, lib ens placatusque exemjilo ac 
memoria consiliorum atque operum juvaret ; lacus inde et 
Oceanum usque ad Amisiam flumen secunda navigatione 
pervehitur. Classis Amisiae relicta, laevo amne ; erra- 
tumque in eo, quod non subvexit ; transposuit militem, 
dextras in terras iturum : ita plures dies efficiendis ponti- 
bus absumti. Et eques quidem ac legiones prima aestu- 
aria, nondum accrescente unda, intrepidi transiere : pos- 
tremum auxiliorum agmen, Batavique in parte ea, dum 
insultant aquis, artemque nandi ostentant, turbati, et qui- 
dam hausti sunt. Metanti castra Caesari Amsivariorum 
defectio a tergo nuntiatur : missus illico Stertinius cum 
equite et armatura levi igne et caedibus perfidiam ultus 
est. 

IX. Flumen Visurgis Romanos Cheruscosque interflue- 
bat. Ejus in ripa cum ceteris primoribus Arminius adstitit, 
quassitoque, an CcBsar venisset ? postquam adesse respon- 
sum est, ut liceret cum fratre colloqui, oravit. Erat is in 
exercitu, cognomento Flavus, insignis fide, et amisso per 
vulnus oculo paucis ante annis, duce Tiberio. Turn per- 
missum ; progressusque salutatur ab Arminio : qui, amotis 
stipatoribus, ut sagittarii, nostra pro ripa dispositi, absce- 
derent, postulat ; et postquam digressi, unde ea deformitas 
oris ? interrogat fratrem. Illo locum et proelium referente : 
quodnam pramiium recepisset ? exquirit. Flavius aucta 
stipend ia f tor quern et coronam aliaque militaria dona memo- 
rat ; irridente Arminio vilia servitii pretia. 

X. Exin diversi ordiuntur: hie magnitudinem Roma- 
nam, opes C&saris, et victis graves posnas ; in deditioncm 
venienti paratam clementiam ; neque conjugem et fiJium 
ejus hostiliter haberi ' ille fas patrice f libertatem avitam, 
penetrales Germa-nla deos, matrem precum sociam ; ne pro- 
pinquorum et affinimn, denique gent is sua, desertor et pro* 



112 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

ditor quam Imperator esse mallet. Paullatim inde ad 
jurgia prolapsi, quo minus pugnam consererent, ne flumine 
quidem interjecto cohibebantur, ni Stertinius accurrens, 
plenum iras, armaque et equum poscentem Flavum attinu- 
isset. Cernebatur contra minitabundus Arminius, prceli- 
umque denuntians. Nam pleraque Latino sermone in- 
terjaciebat, ut qui Romanis in castris ductor popularium 
meruisset. 

XT. Postero die Germanorum acies trans Visurgim 
stetit. Caesar, nisi pontibus praesidiisque impositis, dare 
in discrimen legiones haud imperatorium ratus, equitem 
vado tramittit. Praefuere Stertinius, et e numero primi- 
pilarium iEmilius, distantibus locis invecti, ut hostem didu- 
cerent. Qua celerrimus amnis, Cariovalda, dux Batavo- 
rum, erupit : eum Cherusci, fugam simulantes, in planitiem 
saltibus circumjectam traxere : dein coorti et undique 
effusi, trudunt adversos, instant cedentibus, collectosque 
in orbem, pars congressi, quidam eminus proturbant. 
Cariovalda, diu sustentata hostium saevitia, hortatus suos, 
ut ingruentes catervas globo frangerent; atque ipse in 
densissimos irrumpens, congestis telis, et suffosso equo, 
labitur, ac multi nobilium circa : ceteros vis sua aut equi- 
tes, cum Stertinio iEmilioque subvenientes, periculo ex- 
emere. 

XII. Caesar, transgressus Visurgim, indicio perfugae 
cognoscit, delectum ab Arminio locum pugnce : convenisse 
et alias nationes in silvam Herculi sacram, ausurosque noc- 
turnam castrorum oppugnationem. Habita indici fides ; 
et cernebantur ignes : suggressique propius speculatores, 
audiri fremitum equorum immensique et inconditi agminis 
murmur, attulere. Igitur, propinquo summae rei discri- 
mine, explorandos militum animos ratus, quonam id modo 
incorruptum foret, secum agitabat : Tribunos et ccnturionci 
Iceta scepius quam comperta nuntiare ; libertorum servilia 
ingenia ; amicis inesse adulationem ; si concio vocetur, ilhr 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XIII.— XIV. 113 

quoque, qit(B pauci incipiant, rcliquos adstrepere. Penitus 
noscendas mentes, cum secreti et incustoditi, inter militarea 
cibos, spem aut metum prof err enU 

XIII. Nocte coepta egressus augurali, per occulta et 
vitniibus imiara, comite uno, contectus humeros ferina 
pelle, adit castrorum vias, adsistit tabernaculis, fruiturque 
farna sui : cum hie nobilitatem duels, decor em alius, plu 
rimi patientiam, comitatem, per seria, per jocos eundem ani 
mum, laudibus ferrent, reddendamque gratiam in acie, 
faterentur : simul, perftdos et ruptores pads ultioni et glo- 
ries mactandos. Inter quae unus hostium, Latinae linguae 
sciens, acto ad vallum equo, voce magna, conjuges et agros 
et stipendii in dies, donee bellaretur, sestertios centenos, si 
quis transfugisset, Arminii nomine pollicetur. Incendit ea 
contumelia legionum iras : veniret dies, daretur pugna ; 
sumturum militem Germanorum agros, tracturum conjuges : 
accipere omen, et matrimonia ac pecunias hostium prcedce 
destinare. Tertia ferme vigilia assultatum est castris 
sine conjectu teli, postquam crebras pro munimentis co 
hortes et nihil remissum sensere. 

XIV. Nox eadem laetam Germanico quietem tulit? 
viditque se operatum, et, sanguine sacro respersa praetexta 
pulchriorem aliam manibus aviae Augustae accepisse 
Auctus omine, addicentibus auspiciis, vocat concionem, 
et, quae sapientia praevisa, aptaque imminenti pugnae, dis- 
serit : Non campos modo militi Romano ad pr odium bonos, 
sed, si ratio adsit, silvas et saltus. Nee enim immensa bar- 
barorum scuta, enormes Jiastas, inter truncos arborum et 
enata Jiumo virgulta perinde haberi, quam pila et gladios 
et hcerentia corpori tegmina. Denser ent ictus, or a mucroni- 
bus quairerent : non loricain Germano, non galeam ; ne 
scuta quidem ferro, nervove jirmata, sed viminum textus, 
sed tenues,fucatas colore, tabulas : primam utcumque aciem 
Jiastatam ; ceteris pr&usta aut brevia tela. Jam corpus, ui 
visu torvum et ad brevem impetum validum, sic nulla vul 



114 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

nerum patientia : sine pudore flagitii, sine cura ducum 
abire, fugere : pavidos adversis, inter secunda non divini, 
non humani juris memores. Si tcedio viarum ac maris 
finem cupiant, hac acie parari : propiorem jam Albim, 
quamRkenmn; neque helium ultra : modo se, patris patrui- 
que vestigia prementem, iisdem in terris victor em sister cut. 

XV. Orationem ducis secutus militum ardor : signum- 
que pugnae datum. Nee Arminius aut ceteri Gerrnano- 
rum proceres omittebant suos quisque testari : Hos esse 
Romanos, Variani exercitus fugacissimos, qui ne helium 
tolerarent, seditionem induerint : quorum pars onusta vul- 
nerihus teiga, pars Jluctihus et procellis fractos artus, in- 
fensis rursum kostibus, adversis Diis objiciant y nulla bom 
spe : classem quippe et avia Oceani qucesita, ne quis veni- 
entibus occurreret, ne pulsos premeret : sed, ubi miscuerint 
manus, inane victis ventorum remorumve subsidium. Me- 
minissent modo avaritia, crudelitatis, superbice : aliud sibi 
reliquum, quam tenere libertatem, aut mori ante servitium ? 

XVI. Sic accensos et prcelium poscentes in carapurn, 
cui Idistaviso nomen, deducunt. Is medius inter Visurgim 
et colles, ut ripae fluminis cedunt, aut prominentia raou- 
tium resistunt, inaequaliter sinuatur. Pone tergum insur- 
gebat silva, editis in altum ramis, et pura humo inter ar- 
borum truncos. Campum et prima silvarum barbara acies 
tenuit: soli Cherusci juga insedere, ut prceliantibus Ro« 
manis desuper incurrerent. Noster exercitus sic incessit: 
auxiliares G-alli Grermanique in fronte : post quos pedites 
sagittarii : dein quatuor legiones, et cum duabus praetoriis 
cohortibus ac delecto equite Caesar : exin totidem aliae 
legiones et levis armatura, cum equite sagittario, ceteras- 
que sociorum cohortes. Intentus paratusque miles, ut ordo 
agminis in aciem adsisteret. 

XVII. Visis Cheruscorum catervis, quae per ferociara 
proruperant, validissimos equitum incurrere latus, Ster- 
rinium cum ceteris turmis circumgredi, tergaque invadere 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XVII. -XIX. 115 

iubet, ipse in tempore affuturus. Interea pulcherrimum 
augurium, octo aquilae, petere silvas et intrare visas, Im 
peratorem advertere. Exclamat, Irent, sequerentur Ro- 
manas aves, propria legionum numina. Simul pedestris 
acies infertur, et praernissus eques postremos ac latera 
impulit : mirumque dictu, duo hostium agmina, diversa 
fiftga, qui silvam tenuerant, in aperta ; qui campis adstite- 
rant, in silvam ruebant. Medii inter hos Cherusci colli- 
bus detrudebantur : inter quos insignis Arminius manu, 
voce, vulnere sustentabat pugnam : incubueratque sagit- 
tariis, ilia rupturus, ni Raetorum Vindelicorumque et Gal- 
licae cohortes signa objecissent. Nisu tamen corporis et 
impetu equi pervasit, oblitus faciem suo cruore, ne nosce- 
retur. Quidam, agnitum a C aucis , inter auxilia Romance 
agentibus, emissumque tradiderunt. Virtus seu fraus ea- 
dem Inguiomero effugium dedit : ceteri passim trucidati. 
Et plerosque, tranare Visurgim conantes, injecta tela, aut 
vis fluminis, postremo moles ruentium et incidentes ripae 
operuere. Quidam turpi fuga in suraraa arborum nisi, 
ramisque se occultantes, admotis sagittariis, per ludibrium 
figebantur : alios prorutae arbores afflixere. Magna ea 
victoria, neque cruenta nobis fuit. 

XVIII. Quinta ab hora diei ad noctem caesi hostes de- 
cern millia passuum cadaveribus atque armis opplevere ; 
repertis inter spolia eorum catenis, quas in Romanos, ut 
non dubio eventu, portaverant. Miles in loco prcelii Ti- 
berium Imperatorem salutavit, struxitque aggerem, et in 
modum tropaeorum arm a, subscriptis victarum gentium 
nominibus, imposuit. 

XIX. Haud perinde Germanos vulnera, luctus, excidia, 
quam ea species, dolore et ira affecit. Qui modo abire 
sedibus, trans Albim concedere parabant, pugnam volunt, 
arma rapiunt : plebes, primores, juventus, senes agmen 
Romanum repente incursant, turbant. Postremo deli- 
gunt locum, flumine et silvis clausum, arcta intus planitie 



116 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 



et humida: silvas quoque profunda palus ambibat, nisi 
quod latus unum Angrivarii lato aggere extulerant, quo a 
Cheruscis dirimerentur. Hie pedes adstitit : equitem 
propinquis lucis texere, ut ingressis silvam legionibus a 
tergo foret. 

XX. Nihil ex his Caesari incognitum : consilia, locos, 
promta, occulta noverat, astusque hostium m perniciem 
ipsis vertebat. Seio Tuberoni legato tradit equitem 
campumque : peditum aciem ita instruxit, ut pars aequo in 
silvam aditu incederet, pars objectum aggerem eniteretur: 
quod arduum, sibi, cetera legatis permisit. Quibus plana 
evenerant, facile irrupere : quis impugnandus agger, ut si 
murum succederent, gravibus superne ictibus confiicta- 
bantur. . Sensit dux imparem cominus pugnam, remotisque 
paullum legionibus, funditores libratoresque excutere tela 
et proturbare hostem jubet. Missae e tormentis hastae, 
quantoque conspicui magis propugnatores, tanto pluribus 
vulneribus dejecti. Primus Caesar cum Praetoriis cohorti- 
bus, capto vallo, dedit impetum in silvas : collato illic 
gradu certatum. Hostem a tergo palus, Roman os Humeri 
aut montes claudebant : utrisque necessitas in loco, spes 
in virtute, salus ex victoria. 

XXI. Nee minor Germanis animus : sed genere pugnae 
et armorum superabantur : cum ingens multitudo artis locis 
praelongas hastas non protenderet, non colligeret, neque 
assultibus et velocitate corporum uteretur, coacta stabile 
ad prcelium : contra miles, cui scutum pectori appressum, 
et insidens capulo manus, latos barbarorum artus, nuda 
ora foderet, viamque strage hostium aperiret : impromlo 
jam Arminio, ob continua pericula, sive ilium recens ac- 
ceptum vulnus tardaverat. Quin et lnguiomerum, tola 
volitantem acie, fort una magis, quam virtus, deserebat. 
Et Germanicus, quo magis agnosceretur, detraxerat tegi- 
men capiti, orabatque, insisterent ccedibus : nil opus cap- 
tivis solam interneciotem gentis finem hello fore. Jamque 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XXI.-XXIV. 117 

sero diei subducit ex acie legionem faciendis castris : ce- 
tera? ad noctem cruore hostium satiatae sunt. Equites 
ambigue certavere. 

XXII. Laudatis pro concione victoribus, Caesar con- 
geriem armorum struxit, superbo cum titulo: debellatis 
inter Rhenum albimque nationibus exercitum Tiberu 

CjESARIS EA MONIMENTA MARTI ET JoVI ET AUGUSTO 

sacravisse. De se nihil addit, metu invidiae, an ratus, 
conscientiam facti satis esse. Mox bellum in Amsivarios 
Stertinio mandat, ni deditionem properavissent. Atque 
illi supplices, nihil abnuendo, veniam omnium accepere. 

XXIII. Sed, aestate jam adulta, legionum aliae itinere 
terrestri in hibernacula remissae : plures Caesar classi im- 
positas per flumen Amisiam Oceano invexit. Ac primo 
placidum aequor mille navium remis strepere, aut velis 
impelli: mox atro nubium globo effusa grando, simul 
variis undique procellis incerti rluctus prospectum adimere, 
regimen impedire : milesque pavidus, et casuum maris 
ignarus, dum turbat nautas, vel intempestive juvat, officia 
prudentium corrumpebat. Omne dehinc coelum et mare 
omne in austrum cessit, qui tumidis Germaniae terris, pro- 
fundis amnibus, immenso nubium tractu validus, et rigore 
vicini septemtrionis horridior, rapuit disjecitque naves in 
aperta Oceani, aut insulas saxis abruptis vel per occulta 
vada infestas. Quibus paullum aegreque vitatis, postquam 
mutabat aestus, eodemque, quo ventus, ferebat, non ad 
haerere ancoris, non exhaurire irrumpentes undas pote- 
rant: equi, jumenta, sarcinae, etiam arma praecipitantur, 
quo levarentur alvei, manantes per latera, et fluctu su 
perurgente. 

XXIV. Quanto violentior cetero mari Oceanus, et tru- 
culentia cceli praestat Germania, tantum ilia clades novitate 
et magnitudine excessit, hostilibus circum litoribus, aut ita 
vasto et profundo, ut credatur novissimum ac sine terris, 
mari. Pars navium haustae sunt ; plures apud insulas 



118 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

longius sitas ejectae ; milesque, nullo illic homiiium cultu 
fame absumtus, nisi quos corpora equorum, eodem elisa 
toleraverant. Sola Germ ariici triremis Caucorum terram 
appulit, quem per omnes illos dies noctesque apud scopu 
los et prominentes oras, cum se tanti exitii reum clamitaret 
vix cohibuere amici, quo minus eodem mari oppeteret. 
Tandem relabente aestu et secundante vento claudag naves 
raro remigio, aut intentis vestibus, et quaedam a validiori- 
bus tractae, revertere : quas raptim refectas misit, ut sera 
tarentur insulas. Collecti ea cura plerique : multos Am 
sivarii nuper in fidem accepti, redemtos ab interioribua 
reddidere ; quidam in Britanniam rapti, et remissi a re'gu- 
lis. Ut quis ex longinquo revenerat, miracula narrabaut, 
vim turbinum, et inauditas volucres, monstra maris, am.- 
biguas hominum et belluarum formas ; visa, sive ex metu 
credita. 

XXV. Sed fama classis amissae, ut Germanos ad spem 
belli, ita Caesarem ad coercendum erexit. C. Silio cum 
triginta peditum, tribus equitum,millibus ire in Cattos im- 
perat : ipse majoribus copiis Marsos irrumpit : quorum 
dux Malovendus, nuper in deditionem acceptus, propinquo 
luco defossam Variance legionis aquilam modico prcesidio 
servari, indicat. Missa extemplo manus, quae hostem a 
fronte eliceret; alii, qui, terga circumgressi, recluderent 
humum: et utrisque adfuit fortuna. Eo promtior Caesar 
pergit introrsus, populatur, exscindit non ausum congredi 
hostem, aut, sicubi restiterat, statim pulsum : nee unquam 
magis, ut ex captivis cognitum est, paventem. Quippe 
invictos, et nullis casibus superabilcs Romanos praedicabant, 
qui perdita classe, amissis armis, post constrata equorwn 
virorumque corporibus litora, eadem virtute, parijerocia, et 
veluti audi numero irrupissent. 

XXVI. Reductus inde in hiberna miles, laetus animi, 
quod adversa maris expeditione prospera pensavisset. 
Addidit muniticentiam Caesar, quantum quis darani pro 



ANNAL.IUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XXVI.— XXVIII. 119 

fessus erat, exsolvendo. Nee dubium habebatur, labare 
hostes, petendaeque pacis consilia sumere, et, si proxima 
aestas adjiceretur, posse bellum patrari : sed crebris epis- 
tolis Tiberius monebat, rediret ad decretum triumphum : 
satis jam eventuum, satis casuum : prospera illi et magna 
proelia : eorum quoque meminisset, qua venti etjluctus, nulla 
duels culpa, gravia tamen et sava damna intulissent. St 
novics a D. Augusto in Germaniam missum jilura consilio, 
quam vi perfecisse. Sic Sygambros in deditionem acceptos : 
sic Suevos liegemque Maroboduwn pace obstrictum. Posse 
et Cheruscos, ceterasque rebellium gentes, quando Romana 
ultioni consultum esset, internis discordiis relinqui. Pre 
cante Germanico annum efficiendis cceptis, acrius modes 
tiam ejus aggreditur, alterum consul atum offerendo, cujua 
munia praesens obiret. Simul adnectebat, si foret adhuc 
bellandum, relinqueret materiem Drusi fratris gloria, qui, 
nullo turn alio hoste, non nisi apud Germanias adsequi no- 
men imperatorium, et deportare lauream posset. Haud 
cunctatus est ultra Germanicus, quamquam fingi ea, seque- 
per invidiam parto jam decori abstrahi intelligeret. 

XXVII. Sub idem tempus e familia Scriboniorum Libo 
Drusus defertur moliri res novas. Ejus negotii mitium, 
ordinem, finem curatius disseram ; quia turn primum re- 
perta sunt, quae per tot annos rem publicam exedere. Fir- 
mius Catus, senator, ex intima Libonis amicitia, juvenem 
improvidum et facilem inanibus, ad Chaldaeorum promissa. 
Magorum sacra, somniorum etiam interpretes impulit : 
dum proavum Pompeium, amitam Scriboniam qua quon- 
dam Augusti conjunx fuerat, consobrinos Casares, r pl enar n 
imaginibus domum ostentat. Hortaturque ad luxum et 
aes alienum, socius libidinum et necessitatum, quo pluri- 
bus indiciis illigaret. 

XXVIII. Ut satis testium, et, qui servi eadem nosee- 
rent, reperit, aditum ad principem postulat, demonstrate 
crimine et reo, per Flaccum Vescularium, equitem Roma- 



120 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

num, cui propior cum Tiberio usus erat. Caesar indicium 
haud adspernatus, congressus alinuit: posse enim, eodevi 
Flacco internuntio, sermones commearc. Atque interim 
Libonem ornat praetura, convictibus adlribet, non vultu 
alienatus, non verbis commotior (adeo iram condiderat) 
cunctaque ejus dicta factaque, cum prohibere posset, p>cire 
malebat : donee Junius quidam, tentatus, ut infernal, um- 
bras carminibus eliceret, ad Fulcinium Trionem indj ^ium 
detulit. Celebre inter accusatores Trionisingenium erat, 
avidumque famae malae. Statim corripit reum, adit con- 
sules, Senatus cognitionem poscit : et vocantur Patres, ad 
dito, consultandum super re magna et atroci. 

XXIX. Libo interim, veste mutata, cum primoribus 
ferninis circumire domos, orare affines, vocem adversum 
pericula poscere, abnuentibus cunctis, cum diversa prae- 
tenderent, eadem formidine. Die senatus, metu et aegri- 
tudine fessus, sive, ut tradidere quidam, simulato morbo 
lectica delatus ad fores curiae, innisusque fratri, et manus 
ac supplices voces ad Tiberium tendens, immoto ejus 
vultu excipitur. Mox libellos et auctores recitat Caesar, 
ita moderans, ne lenire, neve asperare crimina videretur. 

XXX. Accesserant, praeter Trionem et Catum accusa- 
tores, Fonteius Agrippa et C. Vibius, certabantque, cui 
jus perorandi in reum daretur: donee Vibius, quia nee 
ipsi inter se concederent, et Libo sine patrono introisset, 
singillatim se crimina objecturum professus, protulit libel- 
Vos, vecordes adeo, ut consultaverit Libo, an liabiturus 
foret opes, quis viam Appiam Brundisimn usque pecunia 
iperiret. Inerant et alia bujuscemodi, stolida, vana ; si 
^nollius acciperes, miseranda. Uni tamen libello man 
Libonis nominibus Caesarum aut senatorum additas atroces 
vel occultas notas, accusator arguebat. Negante reo, 
agnoscentes servos per tormenta interrogari placuit. Et 
quia vetere Senatusconsulto quaestio in caput domim" 
prohibebatur, callidus et novi juris repertor, Tiberius, 



ANNALIUxM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XXX.-XXXIil. 121 

mancipari singulos actori publico jubet : scilicet, ut in 
Libonem ex servis, salvo Senatusconsulto, quaereretur. 
Ob quae posterum diem reus petivit. Domumque digres- 
sus, extremas preces P. Quirino propinquo suo ad princi- 
pem man davit. Responsum est, ut Senatum rogaret. 

XXXI. Cingebatur interim milite domus, strepebant 
etiam in vestibulo, ut audiri, ut aspici possent : cum Libo, 
ipsis, quas in novissimam voluptatem adhibuerat, epulis 
excruciatus, vocare percussorem, prensare servorum dex- 
tras, inserere gladium. Atque illis, durn trepidant, dum 
refugiunt, evertentibus appositum mensa lumen, feralibus 
jam sibi tenebris, duos ictus in viscera direxit. Ad gemi- 
tum collabentis accurrere liberti : et, caede visa, miles ab- 
stitit. Accusatio tamen apud Patres asseveratione eadem 
peracta, juravitque Tiberius, petiturum se vitam quamvis 
nocenti, nisi voluntariam mortem ptroperavisset. 

XXXII. Bona inter accusatores dividuntur : et prae- 
turae extra ordinem datas his, qui senatorii ordinis erant. 
Tunc Cotta Messalinus, ne imago Libo?iis exsequias poste- 
rorum comitaretur, censuit : Cn. Lentulus, ne quis Scribo- 
nius cognomentum Drusi assumeret : supplicationum dies 
Pomponii Flacci sententia constituti. Dona Joui, Marti, 
Concordice, utque iduum Sejitembrium dies, quo se Libo in- 
terfecerat, dies festus haberetur, L. P. et Gallus Asinii, et 
Papius Mutilus, et L. Apronius decrevere : quorum aucto- 
ritates adulationesque retuli, ut sciretur, vetus id in re pub- 
lica malum. Facta et de mathematicis magisque Italia 
pellendis Senatus consulta: quorum e numero L. Pituanius 
saxo dejectus est : in P. Marcium Consules, extra portam 
Esquilinam, cum classicum canere jussissent, more prisco 
advertere. 

XXXIII. Proximo Senatus die multa in luxum civitatis 
dicta a Q,. Haterio, consulari, Octavio Frontone, praetura 
functo : decretumque, ne vasa auro solida ministrandis 
tibis Jierent : ne v&stis serica virosf&dareL Excessit Fron- 

F 



.22 



C. CORNELIUS TACITPrt. 



to, ac postulavit modum argento, supellectili, familice, 
Erat quippe adhuc frequens senatoribus, si quid e re pub- 
lica crederent, loco sententiae promere. Contia Gallus 
Asinius disseruit : Auctu imperii adolevisse etiam privatas 
opes ; idque non novum, sed e vetustissimis moribus. Aliam 
apud Fabricios, aliam apud Scipiones pecuniam : et cuncta 
ad rem publicam referri : qua tenui, angustas civium domos ; 
postquam eo magnijicentice venerit, gliscere singulos. Neque 
in familia et argento, quaique ad usum ptarentur, nimium 
aliquid, aut 'modicum, nisi ex fortuna posside?itis. Dis- 
tinctos Senatus et Equitum census, non, quia diversi natura, 
sed ut locis, ordinibus, dignationibus antistent, taliaque ad 
requiem animi, aut salubritatem corporum parentur. Nisi 
forte clarissimo cuique plures curas, majora pericula sub- 
eunda; delenimentis cur arum et periculorum carendum esse. 
Facilem assensum G-allo, sub nominibus honestis, confessio 
vitiorum et similitudo audientium dedit. Adjecerat et 
Tiberius, non id tempus censura : nee, si quid in moribus 
labaret, defuturum corrigendi auctorem, 

XXXIV. Inter quae L.Piso ambitum fori, corrupta ju- 
dicia, smvitiam oratorum, accusationes minitantium incre- 
pans, abire se et cedere urbe, victurum in aliquo abdito et 
longinquo rure, testabatur : simul curiam relinquebat. Com- 
motus est Tiberius, et, quamquam mitibus verbis Pisonem 
permulsisset, propinquos quoque ejus impulit, ut abeun- 
tem auctoritate vel precibus tenerent. Haud minus liberi 
doloris documentum idem Piso mox dedit, vocata in jus 
Urgulania, quam supra leges amicitia Augustas extulerat. 
Nee aut Urgulania obtemperavit, in domum Caesaris, spreto 
Pisone, vecta ; aut ille abstitit, quamquam Augusta se vio- 
lari et imminui quereretur. Tiberius hactenus indulgere 
matri civile ratus, ut, se iturum ad pratoris tribunal affu- 
turum Urgulania?, diceret, processit palatio, procul sequi 
jussis militibus. Spectabatur, occursante populo, com- 
positus ore, et sermonibus variis tempus atque iter ducens ! 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XXXIV.-XXXV* 123 

donee, propinquis Pisonem frustra coercentibus, deferri 
Augusta pecuniam, quae petebatur, juberet. Isque finis 
rei ; ex qua neque Piso inglorius, et Caesar majore fama 
fuit. Ceterum Urgulaniae potentia adeo nimia civitati 
erat, ut testis in causa quadam, quae apud senatum 
tractabatur, venire dedignaretur : missus est praetor, qui 
domi interrogaret : cum, virgines Vestales in foro et 
judicio audiri, quotiens testimonium dicerent, vetus mof 
fuerit. 

XXXV. Res eo anno prolatas haud referrem, ni pretium 
foret, Cn. Pisonis et Asinii Galli super eo negotio diversas 
sententias noscere. Piso, quamquam ahfuturum se dixerax 
Casar, ob id magis agendum, censebat, et, absente prin- 
cipe, Senatum et Equites posse sua munia sustinere, deco- 
rum rei publico? fore. Gallus, quia speciem libertatis 
Piso praeceperat, nihil satis illustre, aut ex dignitate popuh 
Romani, nisi coram et sub oculis Casaris : eoque conventum 
Italia et affiuentes provincias prasentia ejus servanda, dice 
bat. Audiente haec Tiberio ac silente, magnis utrinque 
contentionibus acta : sed res dilatae. 

XXXVI. Et certamen Gallo adversus Caesarem ex- 
ortum est. Nam censuit, in quinquennium magistratuum 
comitia habenda : utque legionum legati, qui ante pratu- 
ram ea militia fungebantur, jam turn pratores destinaren 
tur : princeps duodecim candidatos in annos singulos no- 
minaret. Haud dubium erat, earn sententiam altius pene- 
trare, et arcana imperii tentari. Tiberius tamen, quasi 
augeretur potestas ejus, disseruit : Grave moderationi sua, 
tot eligere, tot dijferre. Vix per singulos annos offensiones 
vitari, quamvis repulsam propinqua spes soletur : quantum 
odii fore ab his, qui ultra quinquennium projiciantur' 
Unde prospici posse, qua cuique tarn longo temporis spatio 
mens, domus, for tuna ? superbire homines etiam annua de- 
signation : quid ? si honorem per q?iinquennium agitent ? 
quinquiplicari prorsus magistratus, subverti leges, qua sua 



124 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 



spatia exercendce candidatorum industrice qucerendisque au* 
poti^ndis honoribus statuerint. 

XXXVII. Favorabili in speciem oratione vim imperii 
tenuit. Censusque quorundam senatorum juvit. Quo 
magis mirum fuit, quod preces M. Hortali, nobilis juvenis, 
in paupertate manifesta, superbius accepisset. Nepos 
erat oratoris Hortensii, illectus a D. Augusto liberalitate 
decies sestertii, ducere uxorem, suscipere liberos, ne cla- 
rissima familia exstingueretur. Igitur, quatuor fiJiis ante 
limen curiae adstantibus, loco sententia?, quum in palatio 
senatus baberetur, modo Hortensii inter oratores sitam 
imaginem, modo Augusti intuens, ad hunc modum coepit: 
Patres conscripti, hos, quorum numerum et pueritiam vide- 
tis, non sponte sustuli, sed quia princeps monebat : simul 
majores mei meruerant, ut posteros haberent. Nam ego, 
qui non pecuniam, non studia populi, neque eloquentiam, 
gentile domus nostrce bonum, varietate temporum accijiere 
vet jJirare potuissem, satis habebam, si temies res mece nee 
mihi pudori, nee cuiquam oneri forent. Jussus ab impcra- 
tore, uxorem duxi. En stirps et progenies tot consul um^ 
tot dictatorum ! nee ad invidiam ista, sed conciliandce 
mis ericor dice, refero. Adsequentur, jiorente te, Caesar, quos 
dederis, honores : interim Q. Hortensii pronepotes, D. Au- 
gusti alumnos, ab inopia defende. 

XXXVIII. Inclinatio senatus incitamentum Tiberio 
fuit, quo promtius adversaretur, his ferme verbis usus : 
Si quantum paupermn est venire hue, et liberis suis petere 
pecunias cozperint, singuli numquam exsatiabuntur , res 
publica deficiet. Nee sane ideo a majoribus concessum 
est, egredi aliquando relationem, et, quod in commune con- 
ducat, loco sentential prof err e, ut privata negotia, res fami- 
Hares nostras hie augeamus, cum invidia senatus et prin- 
cipum, sive indulserint largitionem, sive abnuerint. Non 
enim preces sunt istuc, sed efflagitatio, intempestiva quidem 
et improvisa, cum aliis de rebus convenermt patres, consur* 



AXXALIUM LIBER SECUXDUS. CAP. XXXVIII., XXXIX. 125 

gere, et numero at que cetate liber um suorum urgere modem 
tiarn senatus, eandem vim in me transmittere, ac velut per- 
fringere ararium : quod, si ambitione exhauserimus, per 
scelera supplendum erit. JDedit tibi, Hortale, D. Augustus 
pecuniam, sed non compellatus, nee ca lege, ut seynper dare- 
tur. Languescet alioqui industria, intendetur socordia, si 
null us ex se metus aut spes ; et securi omnes aliena subsidia 
exspectabunt, sibi ignavi, nobis graves. Haec atque talia, 
quaraquara cum adsensu audita ab his, quibus omnia prin- 
cipum, honesta atque inhonesta, laudare mos est, plures 
per silentium aut occultum murmur excepere. Sensitque 
Tiberius. Et, cum paullum reticuisset, Hortalo se respon- 
disse ait : ceterum, si patribus videretur, daturum liberis 
ejus ducena sestertia singulis, qui sexus virilis essent. Egere 
alii grates ; siluit Hortalus, pavore, an avitae nobilitatis, 
etiam inter angustias fortunas, retinens. Neque miseratus 
est posthac Tiberius, quamvis domus Hortensii pudendam 
ad inopiam delaberetur. 

XXXIX. Eodem anno, mancipii unius audacia, ni ma- 
ture subventum foret, discordiis armisque cmlibus rem 
publicam perculisset. Postumi Agrippas servus, nomine 
Clemens, comperto. fine Augusti, pergere in insulam Pla- 
nasiam, et fraude aut vi raptum Agrippam ferre ad exer- 
citus Germanicos, non servili animo concepit. Ausa eju3 
impedivit tarditas onerariae navis : atque interim patrata 
caede, ad majora et magis praecipitia conversus, furatur 
cineres, vectusque Cosam, Etruriae promontorium, ienotis 
locis sese abdit, donee crinem barbamque promitteret. 
Nam aetate et forma haud dissimili in dominum erat. 
Turn, per idoneos et secreti ejus socios, crebrescit vivere 
Agrippam, occultis primum sermonibus, ut vetita solent, 
mox vago rumore apud imperitissimi cujusque promtas 
aures, aut rursum apud turbidos, eoque nova cupientes 
Atque ipse adire municipia obscuro diei, neque propalam 
aspici, neque diutius iisdem locis. Sed, quia Veritas visu 



326 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

et man, falua festinatione et incertis valescunt, relinque- 
bat faraam aut praeveniebat. 

XL. Vulgabatur interim per Italiam, servatum munere 
Deum Agrippam : credebatur Romae : jamque Ostiarn in- 
vectum multitudo ingens, jam in urbe clandestini ccetus 
celebrabant : cum Tiberium anceps cura distrabere, vine 
militum servum suum coerceret, an inanem credulitatem 
tempore ipso vanescere sineret. Modo nihil spernendum, 
modo non omnia metuenda, ambiguus pudoris ac metus, 
reputabat. Postremo dat negotium Sallustio Crispo : ille 
e clientibus duos (quid am milites fuisse tradunt) deligit, 
atque hortatur, simulata conscientia adeant, offerant pe- 
cuniam, fidem atque pericula polliceantur. Exsequuntui 
ut jussum erat. Dein speculati noctem incustoditam, ac- 
cepta idonea manu, vinctum, clauso ore, in palatium traxere. 
Percunctanti Tiberio, Quomodo Agrippa f actus esset? re- 
spondisse fertur, Quomodo tu Ccesar. Ut ederet socios, 
subigi non potuit. Nee Tiberius poenam ejus palam ausus, 
in secreta palatii parte intern" ci jussit, corpusque clam au- 
ferri. Et, quamquam multi e domo principis, equitesque 
ac senatores, sustentasse opibus, juvisse consiliis diceren- 
tur, haud quaesitum. 

XLI. Fine anni arcus, propter asdem Saturni, ob re- 
cepta signa cum Varo amissa, ductu Germanici, auspiciis 
Tiberii ; et aades Fortis Fortunae Tiberim juxta in hortis, 
quos Caesar dictator populo Romano legaverat ; sacrarium 
genti Juliae, effigiesque divo Augusto apud Bovillas, dican- 
tur. C. Caecilio, L. Pomponio consulibus, Germanicus 
Caesar ante diem septimum Kalendas Junias triumpha- 
vit de Cheruscis Cattisque, et Angrivariis, quagque aliae na- 
tiones usque ad Albim colunt : vecta spolia, captivi, simula- 
cra montium,fluminum, prceliorum: bellumque, quia confi- 
cere prohibitus erat, pro confecto accipiebatur. Augebat 
intuentium visus eximia ipsius species, carrusque quinque 
liberis onustus, sed suberat occulta formido reputantibus, 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XLI.-XLI1I. 127 

Jiaud prosperum in Druso f patre ejus, favor em vulgi : avun- 
culum ejusdem, Marcellum^Jlagrantihus plebis studiis intra 
juventam ereptum: breves et infaustos populi Romani amores. 

XLIL Ceterum Tiberius, nomine Germanici, treceno3 
plebi sestertios viritim dedit, seque collegam consulatui 
ejus destinavit. Nee ideo sincerae caritatis fidem assecu- 
tus, amoliri juvenem specie honoris statuit, struxitque 
causas, aut forte oblatas adripuit. Rex Archelaus quin- 
quagesimum annum Cappadocia potiebatur; invisus Ti- 
berio, quod eum Rhodi agentem nullo officio coluissset. 
Nee id Archelaus per superbiam omiserat, sed ab intimis 
Augusti monitus : quia, florente C. Caasare missoque ad 
res Orientis, intuta Tiberii amicitia credebatur. Ut, versa 
Csesarum sobole, imperium adeptus est, elicit Archelaum 
matris litteris, quae, non dissimulatis filii offensionibus, cle- 
mentiam ofFerebat, si ad precandum veniret. Ille ignarus 
doli, vel, si intelligere crederetur, vim metuens, in urbem 
properat : exceptusque immiti a principe, et mox accusa- 
tus in Senatu; non ob crimina, quae fingebantur, sed 
angore, simul fessus senio, et quia regibus aequa, nedum 
infima, insolita sunt, finem vitae, sponte an fato, implevit. 
Regnum in provinciam redactum est, fructibusque ejus 
levari posse centesimce vectigal professus Caesar, ducentesi- 
mam in posterum statuit. Per idem tempus, Antiocho 
Commagenorum, Philopatore Cilicum, regibus defunctis, 
turbabantur nationes, plerisque Romanum, aliis regium 
imperium cupientibus : et provinciae, Syria atque Judaea, 
fessae oneribus, deminutionem tributi orabant. 

XL III. Igitur haec, et de Armenia, quae supra memo- 
ravi, apud patres disseruit : nee posse motum Orientem nisi 
'jcermanici sapientia componi : nam suam cetatem vergere, 
Drusi nondum satis adolevisse. Tunc decreto patrum 
permissae Germanico provinciae, quae mari dividuntur, 
.majusque imperium, quoquo adisset, quam his, qui sorte 
aut missu principis obtinerent. Sed Tiberius demoverat 



128 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

Syria Creticum Silanum, per affinitatem connexum Ge^- 
manico, quia Silani filia Neroni, vetustissimo liberorum 
ojus, pacta erat : praefeceratque Cn. Pisonem, ingenio 
violentum et obsequii ignarum, insita ferocia a patre 
Pisone, qui, civili bello, resurgentes in Africa partes acer- 
rimo ministerio adversus Caesarem juvit : mox Brutum et 
Cassium secutus, concesso reditu, petitione honorum ab- 
stinuit, donee ultro ambiretur delatum ab Augusto con- 
sulatum accipere. Sed, praeter paternos spiritus, uxoris 
quoque Plancinae nobilitate et opibus accendebatur. Vix 
Tiberio concedere: liberos ejus, ut multum infra, despec- 
tare : nee dubium habebat, se delectum, qui Syriae im- 
poneretur, ad spes Germanici coercendas. Credidere 
quidam, data et a Tiberio occulta mandata : et Plancinam 
haud dubie Augusta monuit muliebri aemulatione Agrip- 
pinam insectandi. Divisa namque et discors aula erat, 
tacitis in Drusum aut Germanicum studiis. Tiberius, ut 
proprium et sui sanguinis, Drusum fovebat : Germanico 
alienatio patrui amorem apud ceteros auxerat; et quia 
claritudine materni generis anteibat, avum M. Antonium, 
avunculum Augustum ferens. Contra Druso proavus 
eques Romanus Pomponius Atticus, dedecere Claudiorum 
imagines videbatur. Et conjux Germanici, Agrippina, 
fecunditate ac fama Liviam, uxorem Drusi, praecellebat. 
Sed fratres egregie Concordes, et proximorum certamini- 
bus inconcussi. 

XL1V. Nee multo post Drusus in Illyricum missus est, 
ut suesceret militiae, studiaque exercitus pararet ; simul 
juvenem, urbano luxu lascivientem, melius in castris ha- 
beri Tiberius, seque tutiorem rebatur, utroque filio legione? 
obtinente. Sed Suevi praetendebantur, auxilium adversux 
Cheruscos orantes. Nam discessu Romanorum, ac vacu ; 
externo metu, gentis assuetudine, et turn aemulatione 
gloriae arma in se verterant. Vis nationum, virtus ducum 
in aequo : sed Maroboduum regis nomen invisum apu 1 



ANNAL1UM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XLIV.-XLVJ. 120 

populares ; Arminium, pro libertate bellantem, favor ha- 
be bat. 

XLV. Igitur non modo Cherusci sociique eorum, vetus 
Arminii miles, sumsere bellum : sed e regno etiam Maro- 
bodui Suevae gentes, Semnones ac Langobardi, defecere 
ad eum. Quibus additis, praspollebat, ni Inguiomerus 
cum manu clientium ad Maroboduum perfugisset ; non 
aliam ob causam, quam quia fr arris filio juveni patruus 
senex parere dedignabatur. Diriguntur acies, pari utrim- 
que spe, nee, ut olim apud Grermanos, vagis incursibus, 
aut disjectas per catervas : quippe, longa adversum nos 
militia, insueverant sequi signa, subsidiis firmari, dicta 
imperatorum accipere. At tunc Arminius, equo collus- 
trans cuncta, ut quosque advectus erat, Reciperatam liber- 
tatem, trucidatas legiones, spolia adhuc et tela Romanis 
derepta in manibus multorum, ostentabat : contra fug acem 
Maroboduum appellans, prodiorum expertem, Hercynia 
latebris defensum, ac mox per dona et legationes petivisse 
foedus ; proditorem patrice, satellitem Ccesaris, haud minus 
infensis animis exturbandum, quam Varum Quinctilium in- 
terfecerint. Meminissent modo tot prodiorum ; quorum 
eventu, et ad postremum ejectis Romanis, satis probatum^ 
penes utros summa belli fuerit. 

XLVI. Neque Maroboduus jactantia sui, aut probris 
in hostem abstinebat : sed Inguiomerum tenens, Illo in 
corpore decus omne Cheruscorum, illius consiliis gesta, quce 
prospere ceciderint, testabatur : vecordem Arminium, et 
rerum nescium, alienam gloriam in se trahere, quoniam tres 
vacuas legiones, et ducem fraudis ignarum, perfidia dece- 
perit, magna cum clade Germanics- et ignominia sua ; cum 
conjux, cum Jilius ejus servitium adhuc tolerent. At se, 
duodecim legionibus petitum, duce Tiberio, illibatam Ger- 
manorum gloriam servavisse. Mox conditionibus cequis 
discessum : neque pamitere, quod ipsorum in manu sit, in- 
tegrum adversum Romanos bellum, an pacem incrtientam 

F 2 



130 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 



malint. His vocibus instinctos exercitus propriae quoque 
causae stimulabant; cum a Cheruscis Langobardisque, 
pro antiquo decore, aut recenti libertate ; et contra, au- 
gendae dominationi certaretur. Non alias raajore mole 
concursum, neque ambiguo magis eventu, fusis utrimque 
dextris cornibus. Sperabaturque rursum pugna, ni Maro- 
boduus castra in colles subduxisset. Id signum perculsi 
fuit: et transfugiis paullatim nudatus, in Marcomannos 
concessit, misitque legatos ad Tiberium, oraturos auxilia. 
Responsum est, non jure eum aclversus Cheruscos arma 
Romana invocare, qui pugnantis in eundem hostem Roma- 
nos nulla ope juvisset. Missus tamen Drusus, ut retuli- 
raus, pacis firmator. 

XL VII. Eodem anno duodecim celebres Asiae urbes 
collapsae nocturno motu terrae : quo improvisior gravior- 
que pestis fuit. Neque solitum in tali casu effugium sub- 
veniebat,in aperta prorumpendi,quiadiductis terris haurie- 
bantur. Sedisse immensos montes : visa in arduo, quce plana 
fuerint : -effulsisse inter ruinam ignes, memorant. Asper- 
rima in Sardianos lues plurimum in eosdem misericordiae 
traxit. Nam centies sestertium pollicitus Caesar, et, quan- 
tum aerario aut fisco pendebant, in quinquennium remisit. 
Magnetes a Sipylo proximi damno ac remedio habiti. 
Temnios, Philadelphenos, ^Egeatas, Apollonidenses, qui- 
que Mosteni ac Macedones Hyrcani vocantur, et Hierocae- 
saream, Myrinam, Cymen, Tmolum, levari idem in tem- 
pus tributis, mittique ex senatu placuit, qui praesentia 
spectaret refoveretque. Delectus est M. Aletius epraeto- 
riis, ne, consulari obtinente Asiam, aemulatio inter pares 
et ex eo impedimentum oriretur. 

XL VIII. Magnificam in publicum largitionem auxit 
Caesar haud minus grata liberalitate, quod bona iEmiliae 
Musae, locupletis intestatae, petita in fiscum, JEmilio Le- 
pido, cujus e domo videbatur, et Patulei divitis equitis 
Romani hereditatem, quamquam ipse heres in parte lege 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. XLVIII.-L. l'3l 

retur, tradidit M.-Servilio, quern prioribus, neque suspec- 
tis, tabulis scriptum compererat ; nobilitatem utriusque 
pecunia juvandam, praefatus. Neque hereditatem cujus- 
quam adiit, nisi cum amicitia meruisset. Ignotos et aliis 
infensos, eoque principem nuncupantes, procul arcebat. 
Ceterum, ut honestam innocentium paupertatem levavit, 
ita prodigos et ob flagitia egentes, Vibidium Varronem, 
Marium Nepotem, Appium Appianum, Cornelium Sullam, 
Q. Vitellium movit senatu, aut sponte cedere passus est. 

XLIX. Iisdem temporibus Deum aedes, vetustate aut 
igni abolitas, cceptasque ab Augusto dedicavit, Libero 
Liberaeque et Cereri juxta circum maximum, quem A. 
Postumius dictator voverat : eodemque in loco aedem 
Florae, ab Lucio et Marco Publiciis, aedilibus, constitu- 
tam : et Jano templum, quod apud forum olitorium C. 
Duiilius struxerat, qui primus rem Romanam prospere 
mari gessit, triumphumque navalem de Pcenis meruit. 
Spei aedes a Germanico sacratur : hanc Atilius voverat 
eodem bello. 

L. Adolescebat interea lex majestatis. Et Apuleiam 
Varillam, sororis Augusti neptem, quia probrosis ser- 
monibus D. Augustum ac Tiberium et matrem ejus illu- 
sisset, Caesarique connexa adulterio teneretur, majesta- 
tis delator arcessebat. De adulterio satis caveri lege Ju- 
lia, visum: majestatis crimen distingui, Caesar postulavit; 
damnarique, si qua de Augusto irreligiose dixisset : in se 
jacta nolle ad cognitionem vocari. Interrogatus a consule, 
quid de his censeret, qua de matre ejus locuta secus arguere- 
tur y reticuit : dein, proximo senatus die, illius quoque 
nomine oravit, ne cui verba, in earn quoquo modo habita, 
crimini forent. Liberavitque Apuleiam lege majestatis: 
adulterii graviorem pcenam deprecatus, ut, exemplo majo- 
mm, propinquis suis ultra ducentesimum lapidem removere* 
tur, suasit. Adultero, Manlio, Italia atque Africa inter- 
dictum est. 



132 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

LI. De praetore, in locum Vipsanii Galii, quern mora 
abstulerat, subrogando, certamen incessit. Germanicus 
atque Drusus (nam etiam turn Romae erant) Haterium 
Agrippam, propinquum Germanici, fovebant : contra pleri- 
que nitebantur, ut numerus liberorum in candid atis prae 
polleret, quod lex jubebat. Laetabatur Tiberius, cum 
inter filios ejus et leges senatus disceptaret. Victa est 
sine dubio lex ; sed neque statim et paucis suffragiis : quo- 
modo, etiam cum valerent, leges vincebantur. 

LII. Eodem anno cceptum in Africa bellum, duce 
hostium Tacfarinate. Is natione Numida in castris Ro- 
manis auxiliaria stipendia meritus, mox desertor, vagos 
primum et latrociniis suetos ad praedam et raptus congre- 
gare : dein, more militiae, per vexilla et turmas componere : 
postremo non inconditae turbae, sed Musulanorum dux ha- 
beri. Valid a ea gens et solitudinibus Africae propinqua 
nullo etiam turn urbium cultu, cepit arma, Maurosque ac- 
colas in bellum traxit. Dux et his Mazippa. Divisusque 
exercitus ; ut Tacfarinas lectos viros, et Romanum in mo- 
dum armatos, castris attineret, disciplina et imperiis sues- 
ceret : Mazippa levi cum copia incendia et caedes et ter- 
rorem circumferret. Compulerantque Cinithios, baud 
spernendam nationem, in eadem ; cum Furius Camillus, 
proconsul Africae, legionem, et quod sub signis sociorum, 
in unum conductos, ad hostem duxit : modicam manum, 
si multitudinem Numidarum atque Maurorum spectares : 
sed nihil aeque cavebatur, quam ne bellum metu eluderent. 
Spe victoriae inducti sunt, ut vincerentur. Igitur legio 
medio, leves cohortes duasque alae in cornibus locantur. 
Nee Tacfarinas pugnam detrectavit. Fusi Numidae mul 
tosque post annos Furio nomini partum decus militiae. 
Nam post ilium reciperatorem urbis, filiumque ejus Ca- 
millum, penes alias familias imperatoria laus fuerat. At- 
que hie, quern memoramus, bellorum expers habebatur. 
Eo pronior Tiberius res gestas apud senatum celebravit: 



ANNAli UM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LII.-LV. 133 

et decrevere patres triumphalia insignia : quod Camillo, 
ob modestiam vitae, impune fuit. 

LIII. Sequens annus Tiberium tertio, Germanicura 
iterum consules habuit. Sed eum honorem Germanicus 
iniit apud urbem Achaiae Nicopolim, quo venerat per Illy- 
ricam oram, viso fratre Druso, in Dalmatia agente, Hadri- 
atici ac mox Ionii maris adversam navigationem perpessus. 
Igitur paucos dies insumsit reficiendae classi : simul sinus, 
Actiaca victoria inclytos, et sacratas ab Augusto manubias 
castraque Antonii, cum recordatione majorum suorum 
adiit. Namque ei, ut memoravi, avunculus Augustus, avus 
Antonius erant, magnaque illic imago tristium laetorumque. 
Hinc ventum Athenas, fcederique sociae et vetustae urbis 
datum, ut uno lictore uteretur. Excepere Graaci quassi- 
tissimis honoribus, vetera suorum facta dictaque praefe- 
rentes, quo plus dignationis adulatio haberet. 

LIV. Petita inde Eubcea, tramisit Lesbum : ubi Agrip- 
pina novissimo partu Juliam edidit. Turn extrema Asiae, 
Perinthumque ac Byzantium, Thracias urbes, mox Pro- 
pontidis angustias et os Ponticum intrat, cupidine veteres 
locos et fama celebratos noscendi ; pariterque provincial, 
internis certaminibus aut magistratuum injuriis fessas, re- 
fovebat. Atque ilium in regressu sacra Samothracum 
visere nitentem, obvii aquilones depulere. Igitur ab Ilio, 
quaeque ibi varietate fortunae et nostri origine veneranda, 
relegit Asiam, appeilitque Colopbona, ut Clarii Apollinis 
oraculo uteretur. Non femina illic, ut apud Delphos, sed 
certis e familiis, et ferme Mileto accitus, sacerdos nume- 
rum modo consultantium et nomina audit: turn in specum 
degress us, bausta fontis arcani aqua, ignarus plerumque 
litterarum et carminum, edit responsa versibus compositis 
super rebus, quas quis mente concepit. Et ferebatur, Ger- 
manico per ambages, ut mos oraculis, maturum cxitium 
cecinisse. 

LV. At Cn. Piso. quo properantius destinata inciperet, 






134 c. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

civitatem Atheniensium, turbido incessu exterritam, oia- 
tione saeva increpat, oblique Germanicum perstringens, 
quod, contra decus Romani nominis, non Athenienses, tot 
cladibus exstinctos, sed colluviem illam nationum, comitate 
nimia coluisset. Hos enim esse Mithradatis adversus Sul~ 
lam, Antonii adversus divum Augustum socios. Etiam ve 
tera objectabat, quae in Macedones improspere, violentei 
in suos fecissent : offensus urbi propria quoque ira ; quia 
Theophilum quemdam, Areo judicio falsi damnatum, pre- 
cibus suis non concederent. Exin navigatione celeri per 
Cycladas, et compendia maris, assequitur Germanicum 
apud insulam Rhodum, haud nescium, quibus insecta- 
tionibus petitus foret : sed tanta mansuetudine agebat, ut, 
cum orta tempestas raperet in abrupta, possetque interitus 
inimici ad casum referri, miserit triremes, quarum subsidio 
discrimini eximeretur. Neque tamen mitigatus Piso, et 
vix diei moram perpessus, linquit Germanicum praevenit- 
que. Et, postquam Syriam ac legiones attigit, largitione, 
ambitu, infimos manipularium juvando, cum veteres cen- 
turiones, severos trfDunos, demoveret, iocaque eorum cli 
entibus suis vel deterrimo cuique attribueret, desidiam in 
castris, licentiam in urbibus, vagum ac lascivientem per 
agros militem sineret, eo usque corruptionis profectus est, 
ut sermone vulgi parens legionum haberetur. Nee Plan- 
?ina se intra decora feminis tenebat ; sed exercitio equi- 
xum, decursibus cohortium interesse : in Agrippinam, in 
Germanicum contumelias jacere: quibusdam etiam bono- 
rum militum ad mala obsequia promtis, quod, liaud invito 
imperatore ea fieri, occultus rumor incedebat. 

LVI. Nota haec Germanico; sed praeverti ad Armenios 
instantior cura fuit. Ambigua gens ea antiquiwds hominum 
ingeniis et situ terrarum, quo, nostris provinciis late prae- 
tenta, penitus ad Medos pori'igitur; maximisque imperiia 
interjecti et saepius discordes sunt, adversus Romanos odio 
et in Parthum invidia. Regem ilia tempestate non habe- 



ANNALWM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LVI.-LVIII. 135 

rant, amoto Vonone : sed favor nationis inclinabat in Ze- 
vjonem, Pol mionis regis Pontici filium, quod is prima ab 
infantia, instituta et cultum Armeniorum aemulatus, venatu, 
epulis et quae alia barbari celebrant, proceres plebemque 
juxta devinxerat. Igitur Germanicus in urbe Artaxata, 
approbantibus nobilibus, circumfusa multitudine, insigne 
regium capiti ejus iraposuit. Ceteri venerantes regem, 
Artaxiam, consalutavere ; quod illi vocabulum indiderant 
ex nomine urbis. At Cappadoces, in formam provincial 
redacti, Q. Veranium legatum accepere : et quaedam ex 
regiis tributis deminuta, quo mitius Romanum imperium 
speraretur. CGmmagenis Q. Servaeus praeponitur, turn 
primum ad jus praetoris translatis. 

LVII. Cunctaque socialia prospere composita non ideo 
laetum Germanicum habebant, ob superbiam Pisonis, qui, 
jussus partem legionum ipse aut per filium in Armeniam 
ducere, utrumque neglexerat. Cyrri demum, apud hiberria 
decumae legionis, convenere, firmato vultu, Piso adversus 
metum, Germanicus, ne minari crederetur : et erat, ut re- 
tuli, clementior. Sed amici, accendendis offensionibus cal- 
lidi, intendere vera, aggerere falsa, ipsumque et Plancinam 
et filios variis modis criminari. Postremo, paucis familia- 
rium adhibitis, sermo cceptus a Caesare, qualem ira et dis- 
simulatio gignit : responsum a Pisone precibus contuma- 
cious, discesseruntque apertis odiis. Postque rarus in 
tribunali Caesaris Piso, et, si quando assideret, atrox ac 
dissentire manifestus. Vox quoque ejus audita est in con- 
vivio, cum apud regem Nabataeorum coronae aureae magno 
pondere Caesari et Agrippinae, leves Pisoni et ceteris offer- 
rentur : Principis Romani, non Parthi regis Jilio eas epu- 
las dari : abjecitque simul coronam, et multa in luxum 
addidit, quae Germanico, quamquam acerba, tolerabantur 
tamen. 

LVIII. Inter quae ab- rege Parthorum Artabano legati 
venere. Miserat amicitiam ac foz&u- 9 memoraturos, et 



136 C. CORNELIUS TACITCS. 

curere renovari dextras, daturumque lionori Gerinanici, tU 
ripam Eupliratis accederct ; pet ere interim, ne Vomm 
Syria liaueretur, ncu proceres gentium propinquis nuntiis ad 
discord ias trailer et. Ad ea Germanicus, de societate Ro- 
manorum Parthoruinque magnifice ; de adventu regis et 
cultu sui, cum decore ac modestia respondit, Yonones 
Pompeiopolim, Cilieias maritimam urbem, amotus est. 
Datum id non modo precibus Artabani, sed eonturnelias 
Pisonis, cui gratissifimg erat ob plurima officia et dona, 
quibus Plancinam devinxerat, 

LIX. M. Silano, L. Xorbano, consulibus, Germanicus 
JEgyptum proficiscitur, cognoscendae antiquitatis. 
cura provincial praetendebatur : levavitque apertis horreis 
pretia ff u°um : multaque in vulgus grata usurpavit : 
milite incedere, pedibus intectis et pari cumGraecis amictu, 
P. Scipionis aemulatione ; quern eadem factitavisse apud 
Siciliam. quamvis flagrante adbuc Pcenorura bello, accepi- 
mus. Tiberius, cultu babituque ejus lenibus verbis per- 
stricto, acerrime increpuit, quod, contra instituta Augusti, 
non sponte principis, Alexandream introisset. Nam Au- 
gustus inter alia dominationis arcana, vetitis, nisi permissu, 
ingredi senatoribus, aut equitibus Pomanis illustribus, se- 
posuit JEgyptum : ne fame urgeret Italiam, quisquis earn 
provinciam claustraque terras ac maris, quamvis levi praa 
sidio adversum ing-entes exercitus. insedisset. 

LX. Sed Germanicus, nondum comperto, profectionem 
earn incusari, Nilo subvebebatur, orsus oppido a Canopo 
Condidere id Spartani, ob sepultum illic rectorem navis, 
Canopum ; qua tempestate Menelaus, Graeciam repetens, 
diversum ad mare teiTamque Libyam dejectus. Inde 
proximum amnis os, dicatum Herculi, quem indigent 
ortum apud se, et antiquissimum perbibent, eosque, qui 
postea pari virtute fuerint, in cognomentum ejus adscitos, 
mox visit veterum Tbebarum magna vestigia. Et mane 
bant structis molibuslitterce JEgyptiae. priorem opulentiara 



AXVALICM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LX.-LXIII. 13" 

com^ -que e senioribus sacerdotum patrium 

serraonem interpretari, referebat, habitasse quondam sep- 
xta mUlia atate militari : at que eo cum exercitu re- 
gem Rhamsen Libya, ^Ethiopia, ^Iedisque et Persis et 
Bactriano ac Scytha potitum ; quasque terras Syri Ar me- 
nu que et contigui Cappadoces c nam, hine 
m ad mare, imperio tenuisse. Legebantur et indicta 
gentibus iributa, pondus argenti et auri, numerus armo- 
mm equorun. dona templis, ebur, atque odores, 
quasque copias frumenti et omnium utensilium quseque 
natio penderet, baud minus raagnifica. quam nunc vi 
Parthorum aut potentia Romana jubentur. 

LXI. Cere rum Germanicus aliis quoque miracul: 
tendit animum. Quorum praecipua fuere Memnonis saxea 
solis icta est, vocalem sonum reddens : 
:tasque inter et vi las aren:- montium 

eductae Pyrar rtamine et opibus regum: lacusque 

a humo, superflue::::s NiK receptacula : atque alibi 
-:iae et profunda altitudo, nullis inquirendum spatiis 
rrabilfe. Exin ventum Elepbantinen ac Syenen, 
claustra olim Roman i imperii ; quod nunc Rubru:. 
mare pate 

LXII. Dum ea : rmanico plures per proxincias 

transigitur, haud leve decus Drusus quaesivit, illiciens 
Germanos ad discordias ; utque fracto jam Maroboduo 
usque in exitium :: : inter Gotones nobilis 

juvenis, nomine Catualda, profugus olir; 
tunc, dubiis rebus ejus, ultionem ausns. Is valida manu 
-omannorum inereditur, corruptisque piimoribus 
ad socieratem, irrumpit resriam castellumque juxta situm 
3S illi : S : :rum praedae, et nostris e provinciis lixse 
ac negotiatores reperti, qus jo* oommercii, . rin cupido 
augendi pecuniam, postremum oblivio patriae suis quern- 
que ab sedibus hostilem in aeruni transtulit. 

LXII I. M?.roboduo undique deserto non aliud subiid 



iUS C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

ium, quam m isericordia Caesaris, fuit. Transgressus Da- 
mibium, qi aNoricam provinciam praefluit, scripsit Tiberio, 
non ut profugus aut supplex, sed ex memoria prions 
fortunae. Nam multis nationibus, clarissimum quondam 
regem ad se vocantibus, Romanam amicitiam prastulisse 
Responsum a Caesare. tutam ei honoratamque scdem in 
Italia fore, si manerct : sin rebus ejus aliud conduceret, 
abiturum fide, qua venisseL Ceterum apud senatum dis- 
seruit, non Philippum Atlieniensibus, non Pyrrhum aui 
Antiochum, populo Romano perinde metuendos fuissc. Ex- 
stat oratio, qua magnitudinem viri, violentiam subjectarum 
ei gentium, et quam propinquus JtalicB hostis, suaque in 
destruendo eo consilia extulit. Et Maroboduus quidem 
Ravennae habitus, si quando insolescerent Suevi, quasi 
rediturus in reguum, ostentabatur. Sed non excessit Italia 
per duodeviginti annos ; consenuitque, mUltum imminuta 
claritate, ob nimiam vivendi cupidinem. Idem Catualdae 
casus, neque aliud perfugium. Pulsus haud multo post 
Hermundurorum opibus, et Vibilio duce : reeeptusque 
forum Julium, Narbonensis Galliae coloniant, mittitur. 
Barbari utrumque comitati, ne quietas provincias immixti 
turbarent, Danubium ultra, inter fluminaMarum et Cusum, 
locantur, dato rege Vannio, gentis Quadorum. 

LXIV. Simul nuntiato, regem Artaxiam Armeniis a 
Cfermanico datum, decrevere patres, ut Germanicus atque 
Drusus ovantes urbem introirent. Structi et arcus, circum 
latera templi Martis Ultoris, cum effigie Cossarum : laetiore 
Tiberio, quia pacem sapientia firmaverat, quam si bellum 
per acies confecisset. Igitur Rhescuporin quoque, Thra- 
ciae regem, astu aggreditur. Omnem earn nationem Rbce- 
metalces tenuerat : quo defuncto, Augustus partem Thra- 
cum Rhescuporidi, fratri ejus, partem filio Cotyi permisit. 
In ea divisione arva et urbes et vicina Graecis Cotyi; quod 
incultum, ferox, annexum hostibus, Rhescuporidi cessit : 
ipsorumque regum ingenia, illi mite et amcenum, huic 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LXlV.-LXVr. 139 

atrox, avidum et societatis impatiens erat. Sed primo 
subdola concordia egere : mox Rhescuporis egredi fines, 
vertere in se Cotyi data, et resistenti vim facere ; cunc- 
tanter sub Augusto, quern auctorem utriusque regni, si 
sperneretur, vindicem metuebat. Enimvero, audita muta- 
tione principis, immittere latronum globos, exscindere cas- 
tella, causas bello. 

LXV. Nihil aeque Tiberium anxium habebat, quam, ne 
composita turbarentur. Deligit centurionem, qui nuntia- 
ret regibus, ne armis disceptarent : statimque a Cotye 
dimissa sunt, quae paraverat, auxilia. Rhescuporis ficta 
modestia postulat, eundem in locum coiretur : posse de con- 
troversiis colloquio transigi. Nee diu dubitatum de tem- 
pore, loco, dein conditionibus ; cum alter facilitate, alter 
fraude, cuncta inter se concederent aeciperentque. Rhes- 
cuporis sanciendo, ut dictitabat, foederi convivium adjicit : 
tractaque in multam noctem laetitia, per epulas ac vino- 
lentiam incautum Cotyn, et, postquam dolum intellexerat, 
sacra regni, ejusdem familice deos, et hospitales mensasob- 
testantem^atenis onerat. Thraciaque omni potitus scripsit 
ad Tiberium, structas sibi insidias, praventum insidiato- 
rem: simul bellum adversus Basternas Scythasque prae- 
tendens, novis peditum et equitum copiis sese firmabat. 
Molliter rescriptum, si fraus dbesset, posse eum innocentice 
jidere : ceterum neaue se, neque senatum, nisi cognita 
causa, jus et injuriam discreturos. Proinde, tradito Cotye, 
venirei transferretque invidiam criminis. 

LXVI. Eas litteras Latinius Pandus, Propraetor Moasiae 
cum militibus, quis Cotys traderetur, in Thraciam misit 
Rhescuporis, inter metum et iram cunctatus, maluit patrati 
quam incepti facinoris reus esse : occidi Cotyn jubet, ?nor- 
temque sponte sumtam ementitur. Nee tamen Caesar pla- 
citas semel artes mutavit, sed, defuncto Pando, quern sibi 
infensum Rhescuporis arguebat, Pomponium Flaccum, 
vet^^rn ^tipendiis et arta cum rege amicitia, eoque ac< 



140 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

commodatiorem ad fallendum, ob id maxime Moesiue prae- 
fecit. 

LXVII. Flaccus in Thraciam transgressus per ingentia 
promissa, quamvis ambiguum et scelera sua reputantem, 
perpulit, ut praesidia Roraana intraret. Circumdata hinc 
regi, specie honoris, valida manus : tribunique et centu- 
riones, monendo, suadendo, et, quanto longius abscede- 
batur, aperticre custodia, postremo gnarum necessitatis in 
urbem traxere. Accusatus in senatu ab uxore Cotyis 
damnatur, ut procul regno teneretur. Thracia in Rhoe- 
metalcen filium, quern paternis consiliis adversatum con- 
stabat, inque liberos Cotyis dividitur : iisque nondum 
adultis, Trebellienus Rufus, praetura functus, datur, qui 
regnum interim tractaret, exemplo, quo majores Marcuni 
Lepidum, Ptolemaei liberis tutorem,iniEgyptum miserant. 
Rhescuporis Alexandream devectus, atque iliic,fugam ten- 
tans, an ficto crimine, interficitur. 

LXVIII. Per idem tempus Vonones, quern amotum in 
Ciliciam memoravi, corruptis custodibus, effugere ad Ar- 
menios, inde in Albanos Henioehosque et consanguineum 
sibi regem Scytharum, conatus est. Specie venandi, 
omissis maritimis locis, avia saltuum petiit : mox pernici- 
tate equi ad amnem Pyramum contendit, cujus pontes 
accolae ruperant, audita re^is fuga ; neque vado penetrari 
poterat. Igitur in ripa fluminis a VibioFrontone, praefecto 
equitum, vincitur. Mox Remmius evocatus, priori cus- 
todiae regis appositus, quasi per iram, gladio eum transigit : 
unde major fides, conscientia sceleris et metu indicii mor- 
tem Vononi illatam. 

LXIX. At Germanicus, ^gypto remeans, cuncta, quae 
apud legiones aut urbes jusserat, abolita, vel in contrarinni 
versa cognoscit. Hinc graves in Pisonem contumelice ; 
nee minus acerba, quae ab illo in Caesarem tentabantur. 
Dein Piso abire Syria statuit. Mox adversa Germanici 
valetudine detentus, ubi recreatum accepit, votaque pro 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LXIX.-LXXI. 141 

incolumitate solvebantur, admotas hostias, sacrincalem 
apparatum, festam Antiochensium plebem, per lictores 
proturbat. Turn Seleuciam digreditur, opperiens aegri- 
tudinem, quae rursum Germanico acciderat. Saevam vim 
morbi augebat persuasio veneni, a Pisone accepti : et 
reperiebantur solo ac parietibus erutae humanorurn corpo- 
rum reliquiae, carmina et devotiones, et nomen Germanici 
plumbeis tabulis insculptum, semusti cineres, ac tabe 
obliti ; aliaque maleficia, quis creditur animas numinibus 
infernis sacrari. Simul missi a Pisone incusabantur, ut 
valetudinis adversa rim antes'. 

LXX. Ea Germanico baud minus ira, quam per metum 
accepta ; si limen obsideretur, si effundendus spiritus sub 
oculis inimicorum foret ; quid deinde miserrimce conjugi ? 
quid infantibus liberis eventurum ? lenta videri venejicia : 
festinare et urgere, ut provinciam, ut legiones solus habeat. 
Sednon usque eo defectum Germanicum, neque prmmia ccedis 
apud interfectorem mansura. Componit epistolas, quis 
amicitiam ei renunciabat. Addunt plerique, jussum pro- 
vincia decedere. Nee Piso moratus ultra naves solvit : 
moderabaturque cursui, quo propius regrederetur, si mors 
Germanici Syriam aperuisset. 

LXXI. Caesar, pauliisper ad spem erectus, dein, fesso 
corpore, ubi finis aderat, adsistentes amicos in hunc modum 
alloquitur : Si fato ccmcederem, Justus mihi dolor, etiam 
adversus deos, esset, quod me parentibus, liberis, patrice, 
intra juventam prcematuro exitu raperent. Nunc, scelere 
Pisonis et Plancince interceptus, ultimas preces pectoribus 
vestris relinquo : refer atis patri ac fratri, quibus acerbita- 
tibus dilaceratus, quibus insidiis circumventus, miserrimam 
vitam pessima morte Jinierim. Si quos spes mecs, si quos 
propinquus sanguis, etiam quos invidia erga viventem move- 
bat ; illacrymabunt, quondam fiorentem, et tot bellorum 
mperstitem, muliebri fraude cecidisse. Erit vobis locus 
querendi apud senatum> invocandi leges. Nan hoc prcecv- 



142 



C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 



puum amicorum munus est, prosequi defunctum ignavo 
questu ; sed, quce voluerit, meminisse, qua mandavemt, ex- 
sequi. Flebunt Germanicum etiam ignoti : vindicabitis vos, 
si me potius, quam fortunam meam fovebatis. Ostcndite 
populo Romano divi Augusti neptem, eandemque conjugem 
meam : numerate sex liber os. Misericordia cum accusan- 
tibus erit : jingentibusque scelesta mandata aut non credent 
homines, aut non ignoscent. Juravere amici, dextram mori 
entis contingentes, spiritum ante, quam ultionem, amissuros. 

LXXII. Turn, ad uxorem versus, per memoriam sui, 
per communes liberos oravit, exueret ferociam, savicnti for- 
tune submitter et animum ; neu regressa in urbem cemula- 
tione potential validiores irritaret Haec palam, et alia 
secreto ; per quae ostendere credebatur metum ex Tiberio. 
Neque multo post exstinguitur, ingenti luctu provincial et 
circumjacentium populorum. Indoluere exterae nationes 
regesque : tanta illi comitas in socios, mansuetudo in hos 
tes : visuque et auditu juxta venerabilis, cum magnitudi- 
nem et gravitatem summse fortunae retineret, invidiam et 
arrogantiam effugerat. 

L XXIII. Funus sine imaginibus et pompa, perlaudes, 
et memoriam virtutum ejus celebre fuit. Et erant, qui 
formam, aetatem, genus mortis, ob propinquitatem etiam 
locorum, in quibus interiit, Magni Alexandri fatis adaequa- 
rent. Nam utrumque corpore decoro, generc insigni, liaud 
multum triginta annos egressum, suorum insidiis, cxternas 
inter gentes occidisse : sed hunc mitem erga amicos, modicum 
voluptatum, uno matrimonio, certis liberis egisse : neque 
minus prceliatorem, etiam si temeritas abfuerit, prcepedi- 
tusque sit perculsas tot victoriis Germanias servitio premere. 
Quod si solus arbiter rerum, si jure et nomine regiofuisset, 
tanto ptromtius assecuturum gloriam militia, quantum de- 
mentia, temjyerantia, ceteris bonis artibus prastitisset. Cor- 
pus antequam cremaretur, nudatum in foro Antiochensi- 
urn, qui locus sepulturac destinabatur praetuleritne veneficii 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LXXIII..-LX 1 V I * <*3 

signa, parum constitit. Nam, ut quis misericordia iii Ger- 
manicum, et praesumta suspicione ant favore in Visonem 
pronior, diversi interpretabantur. 

LXXIV. Consultatum inde inter legato*, quique alii 
senatorum aderant, quisnam Syria prmficeretur, et, ceteris 
modice nisis, inter Vibium Marsum et Cn. Sentinm diu 
quaesitum : dein Marsus seniori et acrius tendenti Sentio 
concessit. Isque infamem veneficiis ea in provincia, et 
Plancinae percaram, nomine Martin am, in urbem misit, 
postulantibus Vitellio ac Veranio ceterisque, qui crimina 
et accusationem, tamquam adversus receptos jam reos, 
instruebant. 

LXXV. At Agrippina, quamquam defessa luctu et 
corpore aegro, omnium tamen, quae ultionem morarentur, 
intolerans, adscendit classem cum cineribus Germanici et 
liberis ; miserantibus cunctis, quodfemina nobilitate prin- 
ccps, pulcherrimo modo matrimonio inter vencrantes gratan- 
tesque aspici solita, tunc fer ales reliquias sinu ferret, incerta 
ultionis, anxia sui y et infelici fecunditate fortunes totiens 
obnoxia. Pisonem interim apud Coum insulam nuntius 
assequitur, excessisse Germanicum. Quo intemperanter 
accepto, caedit victimas, adit templa ; neque ipse gaudium 
moderans, et magis insolescente Plancina, quae luctum 
amissae sororis turn primum laeto cultu mutavit. 

LXXVI. Affluebant centuriones, monebantque j^ojnta 
illi legionum stadia : repeteret provinciam, nonjure ablatam 
et vacuam. Igitur, quid agendum, con suit anti, M. Piso 
filius properandum in urbem, censebat : nihil adhuc inex- 
piabile admissum, neque suspiciones imbecillas, aut mania 
fama pertimescenda. Discordiam erga Germanicum odic 
fortasse dignam, non poena : et ademtione provincial satis 
factum inimicis. Quod si regrederetur, obsistcnte Sentio i 
civile bellum incipi : nee duraturos in partibus centuriones 
militesque^ apud quos recens imperatoris sui me?noria, et 
penitus- infixus in Casares amor prcBvaleret. 



144 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

LXXVII. Contra Domitius Celer, ex intima ejus arni- 
citia* disseruit: Utendum eventu. Pisonem, non Sentium % 
Syria prapositum : huic fasces et jus pratoris, huic legiones 
datas. Si quid hostile ingruat, quam justius arma opposi- 
turum, qui legati aucloritatem, et propria mandata accepe- 
rit? Relinquendum etiam rumoribus tempus, quo senescant. 
Plerumque innocentes recenti invidiam impares. At, si teneat 
exercitum^ augeat vires, multa, quce jwovideri non possint, 
fortuito in melius casura. An festinamus ■, cum Germanici 
cineribus appellere, ut te inauditmn et indefensum planctus 
Agrippina, ac vulgus imperitum, primo rumore rapiant ? 
Est tibi Augusta conscientia, est Casaris favor, sed in occul- 
to : et periisse Germanicum nulli jactantius mazrent, quam 
qui maxime latantur. 

LXXVIII. Haud magna mole Piso, promtus ferocious, 
in sententiam trahitur: missisque ad Tiberium epistolis 
incusat Germanicum luxus et superbia ; seque pulsum, ut 
locus rebus novis patefieret, cur am exercitus eadem fide, qua 
tenuerit, repetivisse. Siraul Domitium, impositum triremi, 
vitare litorum or am, prater que insulas lato mari pcrgere in 
Syriam jubet. Concurrentes desertores per manipulos 
componit, arm at lixas. Trajectisque in continentem navi- 
bus vexillum tironum in Syriam euntium intercipit. Re- 
gulis Cilicum, ut se auxiliis juvarent, scribit; baud ignavo 
ad ministeria belli juvene Pisone, quamquam suscipien- 
dum bellum abnuisset. 

LXXIX. Igitur oram Lycise ac Pamphyliae praelegen- 
tes, obviis navibus, quae Agrippinam vehebant, utrimque 
infensi, arma primo expediere : dein, mutua formidine, 
non ultra jurgium processum est: Marsusque Vibius nun- 
tiavit Pisoni, Romam ad dicendam causam veniret. Ille 
eludens respondit, affuturum, ubi prcetor, qui de venrficiis 
quaver et, reo atque accusatoribus diem pradix'isset. Inte- 
rim Domitius Laodiceam, urbem Syria?, appulsus, cum 
faiberna sextae legionis peteret, quod earn maxime novis 



ANNALIUM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LXXIX.-LXXXI. 145 

consiliis idoneam rebatur, a Pacuvio legato praevenitur. 
Id Sentius Pisoni per litteras aperit, monetque, ne castra 
corruptoribus, ne provinciam hello tcntet : quosque Grerma- 
nici memores, aut inimicis ejus ad versos cognoverat, con- 
trahit ; magnitudinem imperatoris identidem ingerens, et 
rempublicam armis peti : ducitque validam manum, et 
prcelio paratam. 

LXXX. Nee Piso, quamquam coepta secus cadebant, 
ornisit tutissima e praesentibus, sed castellum Ciliciae mu- 
nitum admodum, cui nomen Celenderis, occupat. Nam 
admixtis desertoribus, et tirone nuper intercepto, suisque 
et Plancinae servitiis, auxilia Cilicum, quae reguli mise- 
rant, in numerum legionis composuerat. C&sarisque se 
legatum, testabatur, provincia, quam is dedisset, arceri non 
a legionibus, earum quippe accitu venire, sed a Sentio, pri- 
vatum odium falsis criminibus tegente. Consisterent in 
jicie, non pugnaturis militibus, ubi Pisonem, ab ipsis pa- 
rente m quondam appellatum, si jure ageretur, potior em, si 
armis, non invalidum vidissent. Turn pro munimentis 
castelli manipulos explicat, colle arduo et derupto ; nam 
cetera mari cinguntur. Contra veterani, ordinibus ac 
subsidiis instructi. Hinc militum, inde locorum asperitas. 
Sed non animus, non spes, ne tela quidem, nisi agrestia, 
ad subitum usum properata. Ut venere in manus, non 
ultra dubitatum, quam dum Romanae cohortes in asquum 
eniterentur: vertunt terga Cilices, seque castello claudunt. 

LXXXI. Interim Piso classem, haud procul opperien- 
tem, appugnare frustra tentavit : regressusque et pro 
muris, modo semet afflictando, modo singulos nomine 
ciens, praemiis vocans, seditionem cceptabat: adeoque 
commoverat, ut signifer legionis sextae signum ad eum 
transtulerit. Turn Sentius occanere cornua tubasque, et 
peti aggerem, erigi scalas jussit, ac promtissimum quemque 
suvcedere ; alios tormentis hastas, saxa et faces ingerere. 
Tandem victa pertinacia Piso oravit, uti traditis armis 

G 



146 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

maneret in castello, dum Ccesar, cui Syrxam permitteret, 
consulitur. Non receptee conditiones : nee aliud, quam 
naves et tutum in urbem iter concessum est. 

LXXXII. At Romae, postquam Germanici valetudo 
percrebuit, cunctaque, ut ex longinquo, aucta in deterius 
afferebantur, dolor, ira : et erumpebant questus : Ideo 
nimirum in extremas terras relegatum : ideo Pisoni per- 
missam provinciam : hoc egisse secretos Augustce cum Plan- 
cina sermones : vera prorsus de Druso setriores locutos : dis- 
plicere regnantibus civilia filiorum ingenia : neque ob aliud 
interceptos, quam quia populum Romanum cequo jure com- 
plecti, reddita libertate, agitaverinL Hos vulgi sermones 
audita mors adeo incendit, ut ante edictum magistratuum, 
ante senatus consultum, sumto justitio desererentur fora, 
clauderentur domus ; passim silentia et gemitus, nihil 
compositum in ostentationem : et, quamquam neque in- 
signibus lugentium abstinerent, altius animis mcerebant. 
Forte negotiatores, vivente adhucGermanico Syria egressi, 
laetiora de valetudine ejus attulere : statim credita, statim 
vulgata sunt : ut quisque obvius, quamvis leviter audita, 
in alios, atque illi in plures cumulata gaudio transferunt. 
Cursant per urbem, moliuntur templorum fores. Juvit 
credulitatem nox, et promtior inter tenebras affirm atio. 
Nee obsti tit falsi s Tiberius, donee tempore ac spatio vanes- 
cerent. Et populus quasi rursum ereptum acrius doluit. 

LXXXIII. Honores, ut quis amore in Germanieum aut 
ingenio validus, reperti decretique : ut nomen ejus Saliari 
carmine caneretur : sedes curules sacerdotum Augustalium 
locis, super que eas querceaz corona statuerentur : ludos cir* 
censes eburna effigies pr arret : neve quis Jlamen aut augu? 
in locum Germanici, nisi gentis Julia, crearetur. Arcus 
additi Romae et apud ripam Rheni, et in monte Syriae 
Amano, cum inscriptione rerum gestarum, ac mortem ob 
rempublicam obiisse. Sepulcrum Antiochiae, ubi crematus : 
tribunal Epidaphnae, quo in loco vitam finierat. Statu** 



ANNAL/UM LIBER SECUNDUS. CAP. LXXXIU.— LXXXV. 147 

rum locorumve, in quis colerentur, baud facile quis nume- 
rura inierit. Cum censeretur clypeus auro et magnitudine 
insignis, inter auctores eloquentiae, asseveravit Tiberius, 
solitum paremque ceteris dicaturum. Neque enim eloqucn- 
tiamfortuna discerni: et satis illustre, si veteres inter scrip- 
tores habere tur. Equ ester ordo cuneum Germanici appel- 
lavit, qui Juniorum dicebatur ; instituitque, uti turmae Idi- 
bus Juliis imaginem ejus sequerentur. Pleraque manent : 
quaedam statim omissa sunt, aut vetustas oblitteravit. 

L XXXIV. Ceterum, recenti adhuc moestitia, soror Ger- 
manici, Livia, nupta Druso, duos virilis sexus simul enixa 
est. Quod, rarum laetumque etiam modicis Penatibus, 
tanto gaudio principem affecit, ut non temperaverit, quin 
jactaret apud patres, nulli ante Romanorum ejusdem fas- 
tigii viro geminam stirpem editam. Nam cuncta, etiam 
fortuita, ad gloriam vertebat. Sed populo, tali in tem- 
pore, id quoque dolorem tulit ; tamquam auctus liberis 
Drusus domum Germanici magis urgeret. 

LXXXV. Eodem anno gravibus senatus decretis libido 
feminarum coercita, cautumque, ne quastum corpore face- 
ret, cui avus, aut pater, aut maritus eques Rom-anus fuisset. 
Nam Vistilia, praetoria familia genita, licentiam stupri 
apud aediles vulgaverat ; more inter veteres recepto, qui 
satis poenarum adversum impud:'cas in ipsa professione 
flagitii credebant. Exactum et a Titidio Labeone, Visti- 
liae marito, cur in uxore delicti manifesta ultionem legis 
omisisset? atque illo praetendente, sexaginta dies, ad con- 
sultandum datos, necdum pr&terisse, satis visum de Vistilia 
statuere : eaque in insulam Seriphon abdita est. Actum 
et de sacris jiEgyptiis Judaicisque pellendis : factumque 
patrum consultum, ut quatuor millia libertini generis, ea 
superstitione infecta, quis idonea atas, in insulam Sardi* 
niam vekerentur, coercendis illic latrociniis, et, si ob gra 
vitatem cceli interissent, vile damnum : ceteri cederent Ita 
7 ia, nisi certain ante diem prof anos ritus exuissent. 



I 



J 48 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

LXXXVI. Post quae retulit Caesar, capiendam virginem 
in locum Occice, quae septem et quinquaginta per annos, 
summa sanctimonia, Vestalibus sacris praesederat: egitque 
grates Fonteio Agrippae et Domitio Pollioni, quod, offe- 
rendo jilias, de officio in rempublicam certarenL Praelata 
est Pollionis filia, non ob aliud, quam quod mater ejus in 
eodem coiijugio manebat. Nam Agrippa discidio do- 
mum imminuerat. Et Caesar, quamvis posthabitam, decies 
sestertii dote solatus est. 

L XXXVII. Scevitiarn annonce incusante plebe, statuit 
frumento pretium, quod emptor penderet, binosque numos sc 
additurum negotiatoribus in singulos modios. Neque tarn en 
ob ea parentis patrice, delatum et antea, vocabulum assumsit, 
acerbeque increpuit eos, qui divinas occupationes, ipsum- 
que dominum dixerant. Unde angusta et lubrica oratio sub 
principe, qui Kbertatem metuebat, adulationem oderat. 

LXXXVIIL Reperio apud scriptores senatoresque 
eorundem temporum, Agandestrii, principis Cattorum, 
lectas in senatu litteras, quibus mortem Arminii promitte- 
oat, si patrandce neci venenum mitteretur : responsum esse, 
nonfraude, neque occultis, sed palam et ar?natum pojndum 
Romanum hostes suos ulcisci. Qua gloria aequabat se 
Tiberius priscis imperatoribus, qui venenum in Pyrrhum 
regem vetuerant, prodiderantque. Ceterum Arminius, 
abscedentibus Romanis et pulso Maroboduo, regnum af- 
fectans, libertatem popularium adversam habuit, petitus- 
que armis, cum varia fortuna certaret, dolo propinquorum 
cecidit : liberator baud dubie Germanise, et qui non pri- 
mordia populi Romani sicut alii reges ducesque, sed 
florentissimum imperium lacessierit : proeliis ambiguus, 
bello non victus. Septem et Jriginta annos vitae, duodecim 
potentiae explevit : caniturque adhuc barbaras apud gen- 
tes ; Graecorum annalibus ignotus, qui sua tantum miran* 
tur : Romanis haud perinde Celebris, dum Vetera extolli- 
mus, recentium incuriosi. 



C, CORNELII TACITI 



ANNALIUM 



LIBER TEETIUS. 



C. CORNEL II TACITI 

ANNALIUM 

LIBER TERTIUS. 



SUMMARY OF PART OF BOOK ILL 
CHA.P. I. Agrippina arrives at Brundisium with the ashes of Germanicuf* 
II. Her journey to Rome: the attention paid to her by the municipal 
towns. III. The behavior of Tiberius and Livia. IV. The funeral 
ceremony, and the grief of all classes. V. Comments on the whole 
affair by persons of reflecting- minds. VI. Proclamation of Tiberiu3. 
VII. Drusus sets oat for the army in Ulyricum. — Impatience at Rome 
to see Piso brought to justice. VIII. Piso sends his son to Rome, who 
meets with a gracious reception from Tiberius. — Piso himself has an 
interview with Drusus. IX. Piso crosses the gulf of Dalmatia, and 
arrives in Italy. — His bold and confident air. X. Accusation of Piso. 
XL Advocates appointed for the defence. XII. Speech of Tiberius to 
the Senate. XIII. Charges preferred against Piso. XIV. Weak 
defence. — Clamors and excitement of the populace. XV. Plancina 
manages, through the favor of Livia, to separate her case from that of 
Piso. — Prosecution carried on with vigor. — Every thing adverse to 
Piso. — On the morning of the day intended for his defence, he is found 
dead in his own house, his throat cut, and his sword lying near him on 
the ground. XVI. Tiberius suspected of having procured his death 
through an assassin. — Piso's farewell letter read in the Senate. XVII. 
Piso's son acquitted. — Mock trial of Plancina. — Decision of the Senate. — 
Pardon granted to Plancina. XVIII. Tiberius mitigates in many 
particulars the sentence of the Senate. 

I. Nihil intermissa navigatione hiberni maris, Agrip- 
pina. Corcyram insulam advehitur, litora Calabriae contra 
sitam. Illic paucos dies componendo ammo insumit, 
violenta luctu, et nescia tolerandi. Interim, adventu ejus 
audito, intimus quisque amicorum, et plerique militares, 
at quique sub Germanico stipendia fecerant, multique 
etiam ignoti vicinis e municipiis, pars officium in principem 
rati, plures illos secuti, mere ad oppidum Brundisium ; 



152 C. CORNELIUS TACITU3. 

quod naviganti celerrimum fidissimumque appulsu erat. 
Atque, ubi primum ex alto visa classis, complentur non 
modo portus et proxima maris, sed moenia ac tecta, quaque 
longissime prospectari poterat moerentiurn turba et rogi- 
tantium inter se, silentione, an voce aliqua egredientem 
exciperent ? neque satis constabat, quid pro tempore foret: 
cum classis paullatim successit, non alacri, ut assolet, re- 
migio, sed cunctis ad tristitiam compositis. Postquam 
duobus cum liberis, feralem urnam tenens, egressa navi, 
defixit oculos, idem omnium gemitus : neque discerneres, 
proximos, alienos, virorum feminarumve planctus : nisi 
quod comitatum Agrippinae, longo mcerore fessum, obvii 
et recentes in dolore anteibant. 

II. Miserat duas praetorias cohortes Caesar, addito, ut 
magistratus Calahrice Apulique et Campani supremo, erga 
memoria mftlii sui munerafungerentur. Igitur tribunorum , 
centurionumque humeris cineres portabantur; praecede- 
bant incomta signa, versi fasces : atque, ubi colonias trans- 
grederentur, atrata plebes, trabeati equites, pro opibus 
loci, vestem, odores, aliaque funerum solennia, cremabant. 
Etiam quorum diversa oppida, tamen obvii, et victimas 
atque aras Diis Manibus statuentes, lacrimis et conclama- 
tionibus dolorem testabantur. Drusus Tarracinam pro- 
gressus est cum Claudio fratre liberisque Germanici, qui 
in urbe fuerant. Consules, M. Valerius et M. Aurelius 
(jam enim magistratum occceperant) et senatus ac magna 
pars populi viam complevere, disjecti, et, ut cuique libitum, 
flentes. Aberat quippe adulatio, gnaris omnibus, leetam 
Tiberio Germanici mortem male dissimulari. 

III. Tiberius atque Augusta publico abstinuere, inferius 
majestate sua rati, si palam lamentarentur, an ne, omnium 
oculis vultum eorum scrutantibus, falsi intelligerentur. 
Matrem Antoniam non apud auctores rerum, non diurna 
actorum scriptura, reperio, ullo insigni officio functam ; 
cum, super Agrippinam et Drusum et Claudium, ceteri 



ANNALIUM LIBER TERTIU8.— CAP. III. -VI. 153 

quoque consanguinei nominatim perscripti sint : seu vale 
tudine praepediebatur, seu victus luctu animus magnitudi- 
nem mali perferre visu non toleraverit. Facilius credide- 
rim, Tiberio et Augustae, qui domo non excedebant, cohi- 
bitam, ut par mceror, et matris exeraplo avia quoque et 
patruus attineri viderentur. 

IV. Dies, quo reliquiae tumulo Augusti inferebantur, 
modo pjr silentium vastus, modo ploratibus inquies : 
plena urbis itinera, collucentes per carapura Martis faces. 
Illic miles cum armis, sine insignibus magistratus, popu- 
lus per tribus concidisse rempublicam, nihil spei reliquum^ 
clamitabant ; promtius apertiusque, quam ut meminisse 
imperitantium crederes. Nihil tamen Tiberium magis 
penetravit, quam studia hominum accensa in Agrippinam ; 
cum decus patriot, solum Augusti sanguinem, unicum anti- 
quitatis specimen appellarent, versique ad ccelum ac deos 
integrant illi subolem, ac supers litem iniquorum, preca- 
rentur. 

V. Fuere, qui publici funeris pompam requirerent, com- 
pararentque, qua in Drusum f patrem Germanici, honora et 
magnifica Augustus fecisset. Ipsum quippe asperrimo hie- 
mis Ticinum usque progressum, neque abscedentem a cor- 
pore simul urbem intravisee: circumfusas lecto Claudiorum 
Iuliorumque imagines : defietum in Jhro, laudatum pro 
rostris : cuncta a majoribus reperta, aut qua posteri invene- 
rint> cumulata. At Germanico ne solitos quidem, et cui- 
cumque nobili debitos, honores contigisse. Sane corpus, ob 
longinquitatem itinerum, externis terris quoquo modo crema- 
turn : sed tanto plura decora mox tribui par fuisse, quanto 
prima fors negavisset. Non fratrem, nisi unius diei via, 
non patruum, saltern porta tenus, obvium. Ubi ilia vete 
rum instituta ? propositam toro effigiem, meditata ad me- 
moriam virtutis carmina et laudationes, et lacrimas vel do- 
loris imitamenta ? 

VI. Gnarum id Tiberio fuit; utque premeret vulgi 

G2 



154 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

sermones, monuit edicto : Multos illustrium Romanorum 
ob rempublicam obiisse ; niminem tarn flagranti desiderio 
celebratum. Idque et sibi et cunctis egregium, si modus 
adjiceretur. Non enim eadem decora principibus viris et 
imperatori populo, qua modicis domibus aut civitatibus. 
Convenisse rccenti dolori luctum, et ex mairore solatia : sed 
referendum jam animum ad firmitudinem, ut quondam 
divus Julius, amissa unica filia, ut divus Augustus ■, ereptis 
nepotibus, abstruserint tristitiam. Nil opus vetustioribus ex- 
emplis : quotiens populus Romanus clades exercituum, inte- 
ritum ducum, funditus amissas nobiles familias constante? 
tulerit. Principes mortales, rempublicam aternam esse : 
proin repeterent solennia ; et, quia ludorum Megalesium 
spectaculum suberat, etiam voluptates resumerent. 

VII. Turn, exuto justitio, reditum ad munia ; et Drusus 
Illyricos ad exercitus profectus est, ereetis omnium animis 
spe petendae e Pisone ultionis, et crebro questu, quod, va- 
gus interim per amcena Asice atque Acliaice, arroganti et 
subdola mora scelerum probationes subverteret. Nam vul- 
gatum erat, missam, ut dixi, a Cn. Sentio famosam veneficiis 
Martinam, subita morte Brundisii exstinctam, venenurtique 
nodo crinium ejus occultatum, nee ulla in corpore signa 
sumti exitii reperta. 

VIII. At Piso, praemisso in urbem filio, datisque man- 
datis, per quae principem molliret, ad Drusum pergit : 
quem haud fratris interitu trucem, quam remoto aemulo 
aequiorem sibi sperabat. Tiberius, quo integrum j udiciu m 
ostentaret, exceptum comiter juvenem, sueta erga filios- 
familiarum nobiles liberalitate auget. Drusus Pisoni, si 
vera forent, qua jacerentur, prcecipuum in dolore suum lo- 
cum, respondit ; sed malle falsa et inania, nee cuiquam 
mortem Germanici exitiosam. Haec palam, et vitato omni 
secreto : neque dubitabantur praescripta ei a Tiberio, cum 
incallidus alioqui et facilis juventa senilibus turn artibus 
uteretur. 



ANNAL1UM LIBER TERTIUS. CAP. IX.-XI. 155 

IX. Piso Dalmatico mari tramisso, relictisque apud 
Anconam navibus, per Picenum, ac mox Flaminiam viam, 
assequitur legionem, quae e Pannonia in urbem, dein prae- 
sidio Africae, ducebatur. Eaque res agitata rumoribus, 
ut in agynine atque itinere crebro se militibus ostentavisset 
Ab Narnia, vitandae suspicionis, an, quia pavidis consilia 
in incerto sunt, Nare ac mox Tiberi devectus, auxit vulgi 
iras, quia navem tumulo Caesarum appulerat; dieque et 
ripa frequenti, magno clientium agmine ipse, feminarum 
comitatu Plancina, et vultu alacres incessere. Fuit inter 
irritamenta invidiam domus foro imminens, festa ornatu, 
conviviumque et epulae, et celebritate loci nihil occultum. 

X. Postera die Fulcinius Trio Pisonem apud consules 
postulavit. Contra Vitellius ac Veranius, ceterique, Ger- 
manicum comitati, tendebant, nullas esse partes Trioni ; 
neque se accusatores, sed rerum indices et testes mandata 
Germanici perlaturos. Ille, dimissa ejus causae delatione, 
ut priorem vitam accusaret, obtinuit, petitumque est a 
principe, cognitionem exciperet : quod ne reus quidem ab 
nuebat, studia populi et patrum metuens; contra, Tiberium 
spernendis rumoribus validum, et conscientice matris innexum 
esse : veraque aut in deterius credita judice ab uno Jacilius 
discemi : odium et invidiam apud multos valere. Haud 
fallebat Tiberium moles cognitionis, quaque ipse fama 
distraheretur. Igitur, paucis familiarium adhibitis, minas 
accusantium et hincpreces audit, integramque causam ad 
senatum remittit. 

XL Atque interim Drusus, rediens Illyrico, quamquam 
patres censuissent, ob receptum Maroboduum, et res priore 
cestate gestas, ut ovans iniret, prolato honore, urbem intra- 
vit. Post quae reo, L. Arruntium, L. Vmicium, Asinium 
Galium, JEserninum Marcellum, Sextum Pompeium patro- 
nos petenti, iisque diversa excusantibus, M\ Lepidus et L 
Piso et Livineius Regulus affuere, arrectaomni civitate, 
quanta fides amicis Germanici, quafiducia reo ; sati?i' co* 



156 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

hiberet ac premeret sensus siws Tiberius. lis baud alias 
intentior populus, plus sibi in principem occultae vocis aut 
suspicacis silentii permisit. 

XII. Hie senatus Caesar orationem babuit meditato tem 
peramento : Patris sui legatum atque amicum Pisonem 
fuisse, adjutoremque Germanico datum a se, auctore senatu, 
rebus apud Orientem administrandis. Illic coniumacia et 
certaminibus asper asset juvenem, exituque ejus Icetatus esset, 
an scelere exstinxisset, integris animis dijudicandum. Nam, 
si legatus officii terminos, obsequium erga imperatorem, 
exuit, ejusdemque morte et luctu meo latatus est; odero, 
seponamque a domo mea, et privatas inimicitias non vi 
principis ulciscar : sin f acinus, in cujuscunque mortalium 
nece vindicandum, detegitur; vos vero et liber os Germanici i 
et nos parentes, justis solatiis qfficite. Simulque illud repu- 
tate, turbide et seditiose tractaverit exercitus Piso ; qu&sita 
sint per ambitionem studia militum ; armis repetiia pro- 
vincia ; an falsa licec in majus vulgaverint accusatores ; 
quorum ego nimiis studiis jure succenseo. Nam quo per- 
tinuit, nudare corpus, et contrectandum vulgi oculis per- 
mittere, differrique etiamper externos, tanquam veneno inter- 
cepts esset, si incerta adhuc ista, et scrutanda sunt ? Defieo 
equidem jilium meum, semperque dejlebo : sed neque reum 
prohibeo, quo minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia ejus 
sublevari, aut, si qua fuit iniquitas Germanici, coargui 
possit : vosque oro, ne, quia dolori meo causa connexa est, 
objecta crimina pro approbatis accipiatis. Si quos propin- 
quus sanguis, autjides sua patronos dedit, quantum quisqu* 
eloquentia et cura valet, juvate periclitantem : ad eundem 
labor em, eandem constantiam accusatores 7iortor. Id solum 
Germanico super leges prcestiterimus, quod in curia potius, 
quam inforo, apud senatum, quam apud judices, de morte 
ejus anquiritur : cetera pari modestia tractentur. Ne^zo 
Drusi lacrimas, nemo mmstitiam meam spectet, nee, si qua 
in nos adversa Jinguntur. 



ANNALIUM LIBER TERTIUS. —CAP. XIII., XIV. 157 

XIII. Exin biduum criminibus objiciendis statuitur, ut- 
que, sex dierum spatio inter jecto, reus per triduum defende- 
retur. Turn Fulcinius Vetera et inania orditur : ambitiose 
avareque habitam Hispaniarn : quod neque convictum 
nuxae reo, si recentia purgaret ; neque defensum absolu- 
tion! erat, si teneretur majoribus flagitiis. Post quem 
Servaeus et Veranius et Vitellius, consimili studio, sed 
multa eloquentia Vitellius, objecere : odio Germanici, et 
rerum novarum studio, Pisonem vulgus militum, per licen- 
tiam et sociorum injurias, eo usque corrupisse, ut parens 
legionum a deterrimis appellaretur : contra , in optimum 
quemquc, maxime in comites et amicos Germanici, scevisse : 
postremo, ipsum devotionibus et veneno peremisse : sacra 
hinc et i?nmoIationes nefandas ipsius atque Plancince : peti- 
tarn armis re?npublicam, utque reus agi posset, acie victwn. 

XIV. Defensio in ceteris trepidavit. Nam neque am- 
bitionem militarem, neque proviuciam pessimo cuique 
obnoxiam, ne contumelias quidem adversum imperatorem 
infitiari poterat : solum veneni crimen visus est diluisse. 
Quod ne accusatores quidem satis firmabant, in convivio 
Germanici, cum super eum Piso discumberet, infectos mani- 
bus ejus cibos, arguentes. Quippe absurdum videbatur, 
inter aliena servitia, et tot adstantium visu, ipso Germanico 
coram, id ausum. Offerebatque familiam reus, et ministros 
in tormenta flagitabat. Sed judices per diversa implaca- 
piles erant: Caesar, ob bellum provinciae illatum; senatus, 
nunquam satis credito, sine fraude Germanicum interiisse. 
* Scripsissent expostulantes : quod haud minus Tiberius 
quam Piso abnuere. Simul populi ante curiam voces au- 
diebantur : non temperaturos manibus, si patrum sententias 
evasisset. Effigiesque Pisonis traxerant in Gemonias, ac 
divellebant, ni jussu principis protectae repositaeque forent. 
Igitur inditus lecticae, et a tribuno prastoriae cohortis de- 
ductus est s vario rumore, custos salutis, an mortis exactor 
sequeretur. 



158 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

XV. Eadem Plancinae invidia, major gratia : eoque 
ambiguum habebatur, quantum Cassari in earn liceret. 
Atque ipsa, donee mediae Pisoni spes, sociam se cujus 
cumque fortunes, et, si ita ferret, comitem exitii promittebat. 
Ut secretis Augustae precibus veniam obtinuit, paullatim 
segregari a marito, dividere defensionem ccepit. Quod 
reus postquam sibi exitiabile intelligit, an adhuc experi- 
retur dubitans, hortantibus filiis, durat mentem, senatum- 
que rursum ingreditur: redintegratamque accusationem, 
infensas patrum voces, adversa et saeva cuncta perpessus, 
nullo magis exterritus est, quam quod Tiberium sine mise- 
ratione, sine ira, obstinatum clausumque vidit, ne quo 
affectu perrumperetur. Relatus domum, taraquam defen- 
sionem in posterum meditaretur, pauca conscribit obsig- 
natque, et liberto tradit. Turn solita curando corpori 
exsequitur. Dein, multam post noctem, egressa cubiculo 
uxore, operiri fares j ussit : et ccepta luce, perfosso jugulo, 
jacente humi gladio, repertus est. 

XVI. Audire me memini ex senioribus, visum saepius 
inter manus Pisonis libellum, quern ipse non vulgaverit ; 
sed amicos ejus dictitavisse, litteras Tiherii et mandata in 
Germanicum continere : ac destinatum promere apud patres, 
principemque arguere, ni elusus a Sejano per vana promissa 
foret : nee ilium sponte exstinctum, verum immisso percus- 
sore. Quorum neutrum asseveraverim : neque tamen 
occulere debui narratum ab iis, qui nostram ad juventam 
duraverunt. Caesar, flexo in mcestitiam ore, suam invidiam 
tali morte qucesitam apud senatum # crebrisque interroga- 
tionibus exquirit, qualem Piso diem supremum noctemque 
exegisset. Atque illo pleraque sapienter, quaedam incon- 
sultius respondente, recitat codicillos, a Pisone in hunc 
ferme modum compositos : Conspiratione inimicorum t et 
invidia falsi criminis oppressus, quatenus veritati et inno- 
centice me& nusquam locus est t deos immortales testor, vixisse 
me, C&sar, cum fide adversum te, neque alia in matrem tuam 



ANNALIUM LIBER TERTIUS. CAP. XVI.— XVIII. 159 

ptetate : vosque oro, liberis meis consulates : ex quibus Cn. 
Piso qualicumque fortunes mece non est adjunctus, cum ovine 
hoc tempus in urbe egerit: M. Piso rcpetere Syriam dehor- 
tatus est. Atque utinam ego potius filio juveni, quam ille 
patri seni cessisset ! co impensius precor, ne mem pravitatis 
posnas innoxius luat. Per quinque et quadraginta annorum 
obsequium, per collegium consulatus quondam divo Angus- 
to, parenti tuo, probatus, et tibi amicus, nee quidquam post 
liatc rogaturus, salutem infelicis Jilii rogo. 

XVII. De Plancina nihil addidit. Post quae Tiberius 
adolescentem crimine civilis belli purgavit : patris quippe 
jussa nee potuisse jilium detrectare : simul nobilitatem 
domus, etiam ipsius, quoquo modo meriti, gravem casum 
raiseratus. Pro Plancina cum pudore et flagitio disseruit, 
matris preces obtendens : in quam optimi cujusque secreti 
questus magis ardescebant : Id ergo fas avia?, interfec- 
tricem nepotis aspicere, alloqui, eripere senatui ? quod pro 
omnibus civibus leges obtineant, uni Germanico non conti- 
gisse ! Vitellii et Veranii voce defletum Casarem : ab im- 
peratore et Augusta defensam Plancinam ! proinde venena, 
et artes tarn feliciter expertas, verteret in Agrippinam, in 
liberos ejus, egregiamque avium ac patruum sanguine miser- 
rimm domus exsatiaret. Biduum super haec, imagine cog- 
nitionis, absumtum ; urgente Tiberio liberos Pisonis, ma 
trem uti tuerentur. Et, cum accusatores ac testes certatim 
perorarent, respond ente nullo, miseratio, quam invidia, 
augebatur. Primus sententiam rogatus Aurelius Cotta, 
consul (nam, referente Caesare, magistratus eo etiam mu- 
nere fungebantur), nomen Pisonis radendum fastis, censuit: 
partem bonorum publicandam : pars, ut Cn. Pisoni, filio, 
concederetur \is que pr amomen mutaret. M. Piso exuta dig 
nitate, et accepto quinquagies sestertio, in decern annos rele 
garetur, concessa Plancina incolumitate, ob preces Augusta?. 

XVIII. Multa ex ea sententia mitigata sunt a prin- 
cipe : ne nomen Pisonis fastis eximeretur, quando M. Antonii> 



160 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 

qui helium patricejecisset, lull Antonii, qui domum August i 
violasset, manerent. Et M. Pisonem ignominise exemit, 
concessitque ei paterna bona ; satis firmus, ut saepe memo- 
ravi, adversum pecuniam, et turn pudore absolutae Plan- 
cinae placabilior. Atque idem, cum Valerius Messallinus, 
signum aureum in cede Martis TJltoris, Csecina Severus, 
aram ultioni statuendam, censuissent, prohibuit : oh exter- 
nas ea victorias sacrari, dictitans ; domestica mala tristitia 
operienda. Addiderat Messallinus, Tiherio et Augustce et 
Antonice et Agrippina Drusoque oh vindictam Germanici 
grates agendas, omiseratque Claudii mentionem. Et Mes- 
sallinum quidem L. Asprenas, senatu coram, percunctatus 
est, an prudens praterisset ? ac turn demum nomen Clau- 
dii adscriptum est. Mihi, quanto plura recentium seu 
veterum revolvo, tanto magis ludibria rerum mortalium 
cunctis in negotiis obversantur. Quippe fama, spe, vene- 
ratione, potius omnes destinabantur imperio, quam, quem 
futurum principem fortuna in occulto tenebat. 






I T E S. 



».v««^w\^ww^ 



NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. 



Chap. I. — Germania omnis. The noun is here put first, as being the em- 
phatic word in the sentence, and the adjective is placed after it to show in 
what sense the noun is to be taken, namely, as referring to -Germany prop- 
erly so called, Germany proper was also sometimes styled Germania 
Transrhenana, to distinguish it from Germania Cisrhenana, or the tract of 
country lying between the Rhine and the Scheldt. Consult Geographical 
hidex. — Rcetisque et Pannoniis. We have two conjunctions here, because 
the Raeti and Pannonii were more closely connected with one another than 
with the Galli. The forms Rceti and Rcetia are more correct than Rhati 
and Rhcetia, as is proved by the language of ancient inscriptions. For an 
account of the Raeti and Pannonii consult Geographical Index. — Sarmatis 
Dacisque. The European Sarmatians here meant were the Slavonians of 
a later age. The Daci occupied what is now the upper part of Hungary, 
Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bessarabia. 

Mutuo metu aut montibus. That is, where no mountains intervene to sep 
arate them, they are restrained by mutual fear from invading each other's 
territories. The mountains here meant are the Carpathian and Bohemian. 

Cetera. " The rest of the country." Supply loca. The reference is to 
the northern and western parts. — Latos sinus. " Broad projections of land.' 
The term sinus is applied to any thing that makes a bend. It is most fre- 
quently used of any thing which is hollow, as a valley or gulf; but it also 
means a promontory or a neck of land, where the boundary line makes a 
bend or sweep. Either sense would suit the present passage, but the latter 
seems the preferable one, and the allusion will be to the bold projections of 
the German coast along the Ocean and the Baltic, more particularly to 
what is now denominated Jutland, and also to the headlands near the 
mouths of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe. — Insularum immensa spatia 
" Islands of vast size." Literally, "vast extents of islands." An instance 
of the poetical complexion of the style of Tacitus. The Greeks and Ro- 
mans regarded Europe north of Germany as composed of a number of islands, 
not as forming part of the continent. Of these the largest bore especially 
the name of Scandia or Scandinavia, answering to the modern Sweden and 
Norway. 

Nuper cognitis. " Having lately become known (to us therein)." Nuper 
sometimes, as in the present instance, does not refer to what immediately 
precedes, bM takes in a considerable period of antecedent time. Thus, 



104 NOTES ON THE [CHAP, IJ, 

Cic.y N. D. ii., 50, 126, " nuper, id est, paucis ante sceculis." — Bellum. By 
this term is here meant, in fact, a series of warlike expeditions. The knowl- 
edge which the Romans possessed of these regions was derived principally 
from the expeditions of Drusus, Tiberius, Germanicus, and Ahenobarbus. 
— Aperuit. " Has disclosed to our view." 

Rhenus. The Rhine rose in Mons Adula, a little to the east of the pres- 
ent St. Gothard, in the country of the Grisons. — Ortus. " After having 
arisen/ 1 — Modico flexu. This refers, according to the best opinion, to the 
bend made by the stream near Arenacum, the modern Arnheim. — Versus. 
" Having turned." Taken in a middle sense. Some, less correctly, regard 
versus here as a preposition used pleonastically ; but Tacitus nowhere else 
employs such a pleonasm asm.... versus. Ritter omits in as an interpo- 
lation, giving versus then, of course, the force of a preposition ; but this is 
unnecessary. — Miscetur. " Mingles itself." Another instance of a middle 
meaning. 

Molli et clementer edito, &c. "From the ridge of Mount Abnoba, gently 
rising and of moderate height." We have given molli here the force as- 
signed to it by Ritter (" Sanft ansteigend"), and in rendering clementer edito 
have followed Panckoucke (" hauteur peu elevee"). The latter of these 
expressions is opposed to inaccesso in the previous sentence, and the former 
to prcecipiti. — Abnoba. Abnoba was not, in reality, a single mountain, but 
that part of the range of hills covered by the Black Forest which lay oppo- 
site to the town of Augusta Rauracorum, now Augst. — Plures populos adit. 
On the right bank, the Vindelici, Norici, Pannonii, Illyrii, Moesi ; on the 
left bank, the Hermunduri, Narisci, Marcomanni, Quadi, Daci, .Getas, and 
Bastarnas. 

Sex meatibus. " By six channels." The number of mouths appertaining 
to this stream is differently given by the ancient writers, some mentioning 
five, others six, and others again seven. Tacitus appears to unite the two 
latter accounts. At the present day the Danube enters the Euxine by seven 
mouths. — ErumpaU This is the true reading, not erumpit. When donee 
indicates a design or intention it takes the subjunctive. In the present 
case, many communities are to be visited by the stream before it accom- 
plishes the end proposed unto itself, namely, that of breaking forth into the 
Euxine. (Ritter, ad loc. ; Madvig, L. G., § 360.) — Hauritur. " Is exhaust- 
ed," L e., is lost. 

Chap. II. — Ipsos Germanos. "The Germans themselves." The pro- 
noun ipsos here marks the transition from the subject of the country to that 
of the people dwelling therein. — Crediderinu " I, for my part, believe." 
The perfect subjunctive is here employed to soften an assertion, investing 
it with an air of modest reserve (Zumpt, $ 527). — Indigcnas. This belief 
in the indigenous origin of different races was very common among the 
Greeks and Romans, though now deservedly rejected. The ancestors of 
the German race migrated by land from upper Asia, and form one of the 
links in the Indo-European chain of nations.— Minimeque aliarum gentium. 



CHAP. II.] GERMANIA. 165 

&c. " And by no means mixed up through immigrations of other commu 
aities and the visits of strangers," i. e., free from all intermixture with for- 
eigners, either as settlers or casual visitants. Observe here the employ- 
ment of abstract nouns in the plural (adventibus, hospitiis), to express the 
recurrence of an act, or its taking place on several occasions. This usage 
is very frequent in Tacitus. 

Nee . . . . et. Equivalent to et non . . . . et. This is of frequent occur 

reiice. So neque . . . . et (Annal., ii., 51 ; xv., 28), and neque ac (Agric, 

10). So in Greek we have ovre .... re, and jlltjts .... re. (Compare 
Kuhner, $ 775, 3, a. ed. Jelf.) 

Advehebantur. " Were conveyed to their places of destination." Tne 
verb advehi properly refers to transportation in ships ; here, however, it is 
made to apply also to movements by land. — Utque sic dixerim, adversus 
Oceanus. "And, so to express myself, down-streaming ocean." The an- 
cients had a notion that this part of the world was higher than the res^t ; so 
that, in sailing to it, they had to go, as it were, uphill. (Gronov., ad loc.) 
Compare Hist., ii., 98 : "In alia adverso, in alia prono mari ;" and the ex- 
pression adversum jlumen, as opposed to secundum flumen. Tacitus pre- 
fixes the words utque sic dixerim (for atque ut sic dixerim) as a kind of apol 
ogy for the employment here of so unusual an epithet in the case of the 
ocean ; and this alone would show that the different meanings assigned to 
the term by different editors, of " hostile," or "opposing," or "lying oppo 
site," i. e., belonging, as it were, to the antipodes, can not be intended. 
Compare the version of Dureau de Lamalle : " Ocean, quHl faut remonter. 
pour ainsi dire." 

Ab orbe nostro. " From our part of the world." The allusion is to the 
countries lying around the Mediterranean, and forming part of the Roman 
empire. — Asia. Asia Minor is meant, with the adjacent coast of Syria. — 
Africa. The Mediterranean coast of Africa. — Asperam ccelo. " Rigorous 
in climate." — Tristem. "Cheerless." — Nisi si. " Unless, if (chance so 
will it)," i. e., unless, perchance. In nisi si the conjunction si is used el- 
liptically, and the ellipsis must be supplied in each case, according to the 
nature of the context. The phrase is employed to denote mere possibility 
without any definite assertion. ( Walthe^, ad Ann., ii., 63 ; Hand, ad Tur- 
sell, vol. iv., p. 239.) 

Tuisconem deum. The name Tuisco is very probably connected with 
that of Teutones, which occurs in various forms ; as Theutisci, Theotisci, 
Tuitschi, and in the old dialects of Germany, Teut, Tuit, Thiuda ; in the 
Belgic, Duitsche, Daiske. — Terra editum. " Sprung from the earth," i. e., 
indigenous. — Mannum. Mannus, the son of Tuisco, is merely a personifi- 
cation of the German man {Mann) or race, and the three sons of Mannus 
are the three main geographical divisions of this race. — Ingaevones . . . Her- 
minones . . . Istcevones. Consult Geographical Index. — Vocentur. The sub- 
junctive is here employed because the opinion of others is given, not that 
of Tacitus himself (Madvig, $ 358). 

Lieentia vetustatis. l( Through the (usual) license of antiquity/' i. e., 



J 60 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. Ill, 

availing themselves of the license which so remote a period affords forhaz* 
arding bold speculations. — Deo. Supply Mo. The reference is to Tuisco. 
— Marsos, &c. Consult Geographical Index. — Ceterum Germanict vocabu* 
lum, &c. " That the name of * Germany,' moreover, is of recent origin, and 
lately added." Supply esse. — Expulerint. The subjunctive again, as con- 
veying the opinion of others. So also vocati sint. After Tungri, supply 
vocentur. — Germani. This name is supposed by some to mean men of war, 
and to be derived from the old German word Werr, " war," and Mann, " a 
man" (i. e., Werrmanner). The Roman alphabet, not having any w, con- 
verted this letter into a g. (Compare the French guerre.) But consult, 
for other etymologies, Geographical Index. — Ita nationis nomen, &c. " That 
the name of a particular tribe, not of the whole race, so widely by degrees 
extended itself, that all called themselves Germani, by an appellation as- 
sumed in the first instance by the victorious tribe in order to inspire terror, 
(and) subsequently adopted by themselves." Observe the middle force of 
vocarentur, and the employment of the subjunctive, as indicating an account 
given by others. Observe also the zeugma in invento. The reading which 
we have followed in this much-contested passage is that of all the MSS. 
and early editions. The meaning is simply this. The Tungri, who first 
crossed the Rhine, and drove out the Gauls dwelling near that river from 
their settlements, called themselves, in order to strike terror into their Gal- 
lic opponents, "Werrmanner" {Germani), an appellation which gradually 
became so popular that the whole German race eventually adopted it. — Ob 
metum. Equivalent to ut metum facer ent. (Ritter, ad loc.) 

Chap. III. — Herculem. "A Hercules." By Hercules here is merely 
meant a mythic personification of valor and manliness, called by a Roman 
name, as is usual with the Latin writers. In this sense almost every na- 
tion had its Hercules. — Memorant. The reference is not to the Germans 
speaking of themselves (for then apud eos would have been apud se), but to 
the accounts given of them by others. — Primum. "As the first," i. e., the 
most pre-eminent. Equivalent to principem. 

Quorum relatu. " By the chanting of which." More literally, u by the 
recital of which." Tacitus purposely employs the term relatu here, to in- 
dicate that the carmina were actual narratives of illustrious exploits. — Quern 
baritum vocant. "Which they call baritus." This term is supposed to be 
formed from the old German baren, " to shout," -itus being a mere Latin 
ending. This is the cantus trux which our author speaks of elsewhere, 
Hist., ii., 22. Freund thinks that Tacitus has here erroneously given the 
name of the war-cry for that of the war-song. The form baritum is more 
correct than barritum. Several MSS. and editions read barditum ; but the 
bards were a Celtic order, and did not exist among the Germans. 

Terrent enim trepidantve, &c. " For they cause terror, or tremble them 
selves with alarm, according as the line of battle has sounded forth (the 
strain)." — Nee tarn vocis Me, &c. " Nor does that appear so much a cho 
rus of human voices as the conspiring cry of valor itself." The MS. read 



CHAP. I V.J GERMANiA. H>7 

ing is voces illas .... viaentur, but we have not hesitated to adopt tne era 
endation of Rhenanus with the Bipont editor, Oberlin, Bekker, Lemaire 
and others. It is far more in the spirit of Tacitus. — Fractum murmur. M A 
broken, sullen roar." The term murmur is not unfrequently employed tc 
denote a low, sullen roar, like that of the sea, thunder, an earthquake, &c. 

Quidam opinantur. Among these, Strabo (iii., p. 149) contends that 
Ulysses advanced beyond Tartessus, and founded 'Odvooeia (" Olisippo," 
Lisbon), and Solinus (c. 26, 36) makes him to have touched at Britain.— 
Fabuloso. " Much sung," i. e., celebrated in many a legendary strain from 
Homer downward. — Asciburgium. The modern Asburg, or the neighboring 
hamlet of Essenberg, or Orsoy, on the left bank of the stream. 

Ulixi. " By Ulysses." A Hellenism for ab Ulixe. Others less cor- 
rectly make it the dative simply, " to Ulysses." — Adjecto LaertcB patris no 
mine. The meaning is, that on the pretended altar, after the name of 
Ulysses, was inscribed " Son of Laertes," according to the Grecian custom. 
— Graecis litteris inscriptos. This, like the story about the altar, must be re 
garded as a mere, fable. We learn, however, from Caesar (B. G.> i., 29 ; v., 
48 ; vi., 14), that the Gauls were acquainted with Grecian characters, which 
they probably received from the Phocaeans who colonized Massilia, the mod- 
ern Marseilles. — Ex ingenio. " According to his turn of mind." If credu- 
lous, let him believe the story ; if skeptical, let him withhold his assent. 

Chap. IV. — Infectos. " Changed." The verbs inficere, vitiare, corrum- 
pere, like fiiaivsLv, fzoXvvetv, (pSeipeiv, &c, do not always imply a change 
for the worse, but often a mere blending, or an alteration of the primitive 
state of any thing. — Propriam et sinceram .... gentem. " As a peculiar and 
unmixed race." — Sui similem. In Cicero and most older writers, similis has 
a genitive when it relates to living beings, and a genitive or dative in- 
differently when it concerns inanimate objects. Livy and the poets of the 
Augustan age were the first who employed the dative as well as the geni 
tive in the former case. (Madvig, ad Cic. de Fin. v., 5, 12.) 

Habitus corporum. " The configuration of their frames," i. e., their phys- 
ical characteristics. — Truces et c&rulei oculi, &c. It is principally in Hosse, 
Westphalia, Pomerania, Hanover, Thuringia, and Bavaria, that we find 
traces at the present day of the physical characteristics which Tacitus here 
ascribes to the' ancient German race. On tn* other hand, the communities 
that inhabit Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, a part of Upper Saxony and Austria, 
display the marks of a blending with the Slavonic race. — Magna corpora. 
The large stature of the ancient Germi^s is frequently referred to by the 
writers of antiquity. — Et tantum ad impetum valida. " And powerful onlv 
for the first onset," i. c, the first shock < f the conflict. — Laboris atque cperum. 
" Of labor and prolonged exertions." — Calo solove. The particles ve and vel 
have always a disjunctive force. Hert calo is to be referred to frigora, and 
solo to inediam, which could not be the case if ve were equivalent to que 
Translate, " Cold and hunger they a-e accustomed to endure by their cli 
mate and soil" 



168 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. V 

Chap. V. — Eisi aliquanto specie differt. " Although it -varies considerably 
in aspect." Literally, " although it differs (from itself)." Differo is here 
used absoiately. Aliquanto, aliquantum, and the other compounds of ali, 
which refer to number or space, almost invariably imply greatness of some 
kind. (JErnesti, ad Suet. Cass., 86.) — Paludibus. Especially in Westphalia 
and Lower Saxony. The cause is to be ascribed to the large forests, which 
hinder the drainage. — Humidior, qua Gallias. Supply adspicit. The west- 
ern part of Germany is meant, but more particularly the territories of the 
Batavi and Frisii, now Holland, Friesland, &c. The greater degree of hu- 
midity is owing to the forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes in this quarter. — 
Vented ir, qua Noricum, &c. " More bleak, where it looks toward Noricum 
and Pannonia." The southern and eastern parts of Germany are meant, 
where the country is more elevated and mountainous, and hence more ex- 
posed to the winds. 

Satis ferax. " Productive for grain." Literally, " for things sown in it." 
Satis is the dative plural of satus, from sero. Observe that satorum ferax 
would signify " productive in grain," i. e., producing it in abundance ; where- 
as satis ferax merely means, well fitted to produce it. — -Frugiferarum arbor- 
um patiens. " Kindly to fruit trees." The ordinary text has impatient, 
" unkindly," but this can not be correct, since the contrary is asserted by 
Dion Cassius (xlix., 36), Strabo (iv., 6, 8; vii., 5, 11), Pliny (H. i\ r ., xh. 5 
3), and Tacitus himself (c. 10, 23, 26). In the common reading the im 
might very easily have arisen from the m preceding. We have adopted, 
therefore, patiens, the conjecture of some editors. — Sed plerumque inpro> 
cera. " But (these) for the most part (are) small of size." Some make 
inprocera here agree, by a bold figure of speech, with terra instead of pecora. 
This, however, is altogether too forced; improcera is a neuter plural, re« 
ferring to pecora, so that the construction will be sed inprocera (ilia sunt). 

Suus honor aut gloria frontis. " Their usual stateliness or dignity of 
brow," i. e., they are not as large as those in other lands, nor are they sup- 
plied with horns of as imposing a size. Ritter thinks that horses are in- 
cluded in this passage under the term armentis, and that suus honor refers 
particularly to them, and gloria frontis to the oxen. — Numero gaudent. 
" They delight in a large number." Ritter maintains that gaudent here has 
the force merely of possident, " they have," and that Tacitus does not mean 
that they take any delight in a large number. This, however, is contra- 
dicted by gratissimcB immediately following. — Nee tamen adfirmavcrim, &c. 
It is now well known that Germany abounds in these veins. The first was 
discovered in the reign of Otho I. 

Possessione et usu haud perinde adficiuntur. " They are not affected by 
the possession and use (of these) in the same way (as other nations)," i. e., 
like other nations. We must supply in sense ac alice nationes after perinde. 
■ -Est videre. " One may see." So egti for I&gtl in Greek. — Non in alia 
vilitate. "Held in no higher estimation." Literally, "in no other cheap 
ness." — Proximi. " Those in our immediate vicinity," i. c, living on the 
howlers. — Vsum commerciortim. "Convenience in traffic." — In prei : o hab> 



CHAP. VI.] GERMANIA. 169 

ent. " Hold in val ae." — Simplicius et antiquius. "After a simpler and more 
primitive fashion." — Serratos, bigatosqus. "Those pieces, namely, with 
notched edges, and those stamped with a two-horse chariot." Supply num- 
mos. The preference of the Germans for certain forms of Roman money was 
owing to their apprehension of being cheated with false coin. The notched 
pieces would be a preventive against this, since they had their edges cut 
like the teeth of a saw (serra), by which means it could be seen whether 
the metal was the same quite through, or only plated. The pieces termed 
bigati were, on the other hand, old coin of purer silver than the adulterated 
currency of the day. 

Sequuntur. "They seek after." — Nulla adfectione animi. "From no 
predilection (for that metal)." — Numerus. " The counting." For numera- 
tio. — Argenteorwm. Supply nummorum. 

Chap. VI. — Neferrum quidem superest. " Not even iron abounds." Lit- 
erally, " is over and above," i. e., their actual wants. Ne quidem is always 
separated by the word which has the emphasis and forms the antithesis. 
(Madvig, §457.) — Conligitur. " Is inferable." — Frameas. The term framsa 
is fram Latinized ; and the modern German word Pfriem, " an awl," ap- 
pears to have some affinity to it. — Habili. " Convenient," i. e., handy — 
Ratio. " The case." 

Nudi aut sagulo leves. " Being naked, or lightly covered with a small 
iloak." Sagulum, diminutive of sagum. There should be no full stop after 
vibrant ; they use this light dress that they may have greater freedom of 
movement. — Nulla cultus jactatio. " They take no pride in personal equip- 
ments." Tacitus here, and in similar instances, uses the abstract noun. 
The writers of the Augustan age would have employed the verb. — Casnis 
aut galea. "A casque or a helmet." By cassis, strictly speaking, is meant 
a head-piece of metal ; by galea, on the other hand, one that is made of skin 
or leather. This distinction, however, is not always observed, though it is 
intended to be so in the present instance. 

Sed nee variare gyros, &c. ("Nor this alone), but they are not even 
taught to practice the various changes of the ring, after our fashion." Lit- 
erally, " to vary circular movements." The reference is to the various 
changes of the ring as practiced by the Romans in training their steeds. 
Observe that nee is equivalent here to m quidem. {Hand, ad Tursell., iv., 
p. 105.) — In rectum, aut uno flexu, &c. " They urge them straight onward, 
or else by one continued turning toward the right, in so close a circle that 
no one is behind the rest," i. e.; in one continued circle. Tacitus is al- 
luding here, not to any military movement, but to the German mode of train- 
ing steeds, as contrasted with that of the Romans. The latter, as he has 
just informed us, practiced various changes of the ring, or, in other words, 
made the steed perform a variety of complicated movements, in order to 
render him, by dint of numerous turnings both to the right and left, more 
obedient to the rein ; the Germans, on the other hand, had only two mode 
of proceeding, namely, either to ride straight onward, or else to move rouna 

H 



170 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. VII. 

in one continued ring, by a constant turning of the horse to the right. And 
this movement was practiced by a number of riders at once, who followed 
one another so closely, that the ring or circle which they formed may be said 
to have had neither beginning nor end, and hence no one was behind th« 
rest. (Gerlach, ad loc.) 

Plus penes peditem roboris. The German cavalry, however, were gen 
erally superior to the Roman in their encounters, and they were frequently 
employed as auxiliaries in the Roman armies. — Eoque mixti prceliantur. 
" And on this account they fight intermingled," i, e., the infantry with the 
cavalry. A very graphic description of this mode of fighting is given by 
Caesar in his Gallic Commentaries (i., 48). The same commander adopted 
it himself at the battle of Pharsalia (B.C., iii., 75). — Centeni. The di- 
vision by hundreds appears to have been a widely-spread one, and to have 
pervaded the whole of Teutonic and Scandinavian antiquity. ( Grote, Hist, 
of Greece, iii., p. 74, note.) — Id ipsum. " By this very name," i. e., the 
" Hundreders," or a " Hundreder," of such a canton. Literally, " this very 
thing." — Nomen et honor. " An appellation and a source of distinction,' 
t. e., a term of honor. 

Cuneos. The term cuneus was applied to a body of foot-soldiers drawn 
up in the form of a wedge, for the purpose of breaking through an enemy's 
line. — Consilii quam formidinis. " A mark rather of prudence than of fear.' 
Supply magis before quam. — Referunt. " They carry off." Literally, " they 
bear back," i. e., from the battle-field. — Scutum reliquisse. Compare Horace 
{Od., ii., 7, 10), and the well-known injunctions of the Spartan women, 
when presenting their sons with their shields, n H rav $ enl rue, and Tavrqv 
6 iraTTjp aoi del £GG)£e, nai gv ovv ravrr t v g&&, 7) yJf] ego. — Ignominioso. 
" For one thus branded with ignominy." — Superstates. (" Such) survivors." 

Chap. VII. — Ex nobilitate. " According to nobility of birth." Ex has 
here the force of secundum, as in chap, xii., Distinctio poenarum ex delicto. 
The king had charge of civil affairs, the dux or "leader," of those apper- 
taining to warfare. At the period of the great migration of the northern na- 
tions into Southern Europe, these two offices appear to have been united 
in one person. — Et duces exemplo, &c. " And their leaders (are so) through 
the force of example, rather than any exercise of authority," i. <?., they com- 
mand less through the force of authority than of example. Exemplo and 
imperio are ablatives, not datives. — Admiratione prcesunt. " They take the 
lead through the admiration which they inspire." — Aniniadvertere. " To put 
to death." This verb commonly means " to punish" simply ; here, however, 
it is to be taken in a stronger sense, as in Hist., i., 46, and iv., 49, and we 
may supply gladio or something similar. Tacitus, it will be perceived, is 
descending from heavier to lighter punishments. 

Non quasi inpeenam, &c. What was thus inflicted by the priests was not 
legarded in the light of a mere judicial sentence, nor as emanating from the 
dux, or military leader, but as something coming from on high. — Deo. The 
pod Thor, the German Mars, is meant. Thursday ( Thorstag) was name 



CHAP. VIII.] GERMANIA. 171 

after him. — Effigiesque et signa qucedam, &c. " (On this account), more- 
over, they carry to battle effigies (of animals), and certain standards taken 
down from their (sacred) groves," i. e., in consequence of this belief that 
the god Thor is present in the battle-field, they bear to the conflict the effi- 
gies of animals answering the purposes of standards, which, from the cir 
cumstance of their having been preserved in sacred groves, will, it is con- 
ceived, propitiate the favor of the divinity, and induce him to be on their 
side. With effigies supply ferarum. The expression effigies et signa quaedam 
means nothing more, in fact, than effigies serving as a kind of standards, 
the et being merely explanatory. The standards referred to were probably 
like those represented on the columns of Trajan and Antoninus, namely, 
the figure of an animal at the top of a pole. — Turmam aut cuneum. " The 
troop of horse, or wedge of foot." 

Familia et propinquitates. "Families and kindreds." — Pignora. "(Are 
their dearest) pledges," i. e., whatever they held most dear, their wives, 
children, &c. — Unde. Referring to in proximo. — Audiri. Supply solent. — 
Sanctissimi testes. " The most revered witnesses (of his bearing in the 
fight)." — Exigere. " To compare and examine minutely," i. e., to compare 
the wounds of the different warriors, and assign the highest praise to him 
who has received the largest number and the most honorable ones. ( Gronov., 
ad he.) Rhenanus conjectured exsugere, " to suck," which the Bipont edi- 
tion adopts, but the common reading is far more spirited. — Cibos et kortamina. 
Two very different things, connected rather singularly with one verb. Com- 
pare chap. i. : " Mutuo metu aut montibus separatur." 

Chap. VIII. — Inclinatas jam et labantes. " Already giving v* ay and ready 
to flee." — Constantia. " By the persevering earnestness."-— Objectu pector- 
um. " By presenting unto them their breasts," i. e., by presenting theii 
bared bosoms to their husbands and brothers, and begging death at their 
hands in preference to captivity. Tacitus often employs verbal nouns of 
the fourth declension, and in the ablative case, in place of participles. — 
Nomine. " On account of." Compare Cic, Dom. y vii., 47 ; in Verr., v., 5 ; 
Hor.f Od., iii., 21, 5, and the remarks of Bentley on this last passage. — 
Adeo. " So much so." — Efficacius obligentur. " Are more effectually bound 
to fidelity," t. e., in their observance of treaties. — Inesse quin etiam, &c. 
" Nay, they even think that there is something sacred and prescient in the 
female sex." Supply feminis. A remarkable instance of this belief is given 
by Caesar in the case of Ariovistus, the German leader, who delayed en 
gaging, because the women had declared that their countrymen would not 
prove victorious if they should fight with the Romans before the new moon. 
(CcBs.y B. G., i., 50.) 

Vidimus. From this passage it has been erroneously supposed by some 
that Tacitus had himself been in Germany. He merely saw Veleda, how- 
ever, when brought captive to Rome. (Ritter, ad loc.) — Sub divo Vcspasi- 
ano. "Under the (now) deified Vespasian," i. e., during the reign of the 
deceased Vespasian -~-Veledam,. Statius (Silv., i., 4, 89) makes the penult 



172 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. IX. 

of this word short while Dio Cassius (lxvii., 5) writes it iii Greek with 
the long quantity, namely, Belijdav. The former appears more correct. 
V~eleda was a female of the Bructeri, and had much to do with the project 
of Civilis to drive the Romans from Gaul. Her influence was very great 
among all classes of the Germans, and she contributed by her predictions 
to some of their most brilliant successes. She was surrendered to the Ro- 
mans, however, by her own countrymen, perhaps by Civilis himself. Veleda 
dwelt in a cave at a place now called Spillenburg, on the light bank of the 
Luppia, now Lippe. 

Auriniam. Tacitus, in all probability, has given us here, by mistake, a 
common instead of a proper name. The northern nations gave the namt 
of A.lrunen to women of this kind, which some derive from all, " all," and 
Runa, " a mystery-" or " secret," on account of their being supposed to be 
omniscient. Hence, in all likelihood, the conjecture of Lipsius, namely, 
Aluriniam, presents us with the true reading here. — Complures alias. 
imong these may be named Ganna, who succeeded Veleda, and was neld 
n equally high veneration. She accompanied Masyus, king of the Sem- 
vones, to Rome in the time of Domitian, and was very honorably received. — 
<Vec tamquam facerent deas. " Nor as if they would make them divinities." 
1 sarcastic allusion to the usages of his own countrymen. Ritter cites the 
nstances of Poppsea's infant daughter, and of Poppasa herself, in the time 
»f Nero (Tac, Ann., xv., 23; Dio Cass., lxiii., 29). 

Chap. IX. — Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt. Scarcely any thing is 
mown about the religion of the ancient Germans. The few notices we 
have respecting it are chiefly in the writings of the Greeks and Romans, 
who did not understand their language, and, with very few exceptions, had 
never visited their country ; or in those of the Christian fathers and eccle- 
siastics, who were more eager to condemn the superstitions of the pagans, 
than to make minute researches into their character and origin. The deity, 
whom Tacitus here calls Mercurius, seems to have been the Wodan or Odin 
of the Germans. The Gauls and Thracians also honored Mercury above 
all the other gods. (Cobs., B. G., vi., 17; Herod., v., 7.) Mercurii dies is 
Wodenstag, or Wednesday. — Cui certis diebus, &c. "Whom, on stated 
days, they deem it right to propitiate with human victims also." — Martem* 
Ma» s, as before remarked, is the German Thor. — Concessis. " Usually al- 
lotted for sacrifice," i. e., by other and more civilized nations, who offer up 
animals instead of human sacrifices. 

Isidi. Isis, the wife of Osiris, and the mother of Horus, was one of the 
principal Egyptian divinities. The goddess whom Tacitus here calls Isis 
was the moon, which was worshipped by the Germans. The symbol of this 
deity would naturally be a crescent moon, the form of which might easily 
be confounded with that of a pinnace. — Signum ipsum. " The symbol itself 
(of tne goddess)." — Liburnas. "Of a Liburnian galley." Supply navis. 
The Liburnians were a people of Illyricum, celebrated as bold and skill 
ful mariners. Their ships were remarkable for their swift sailing, ana 



CHAP. X.] GERMANIA. 173 

hence vessels built after the same model were called Liburnicae or Lib- 
urnce naves. They were commonly biremes, made very sharp in the bows 
and stern. 

In ullam humani oris speciem adsimilare. " To liken them to any appear- 
ance of humanity." — Ex magnitudine. " In accordance with the greatness." 
— Lucos et nemora. " Groves and woodlands." Nemus is more extensive 
in signification than lucus, and has the same relation to it that the whole 
has to a part. It is the same as the Greek vejuoc, and probably meant orig- 
inally a pasture-ground. — Deorurnque nominibus, &c. "And they call by 
ths names of (different) deities that secret power, which they see with the 
sye of reverential faith alone." The allusion is to the secret and mysteri- 
ous idea of deity, which they form unto themselves, and which they style 
by different names, such as Tuisco, Wodan, Thor, &c, but which they do 
not presume to imbody into any external foim. 

Chap. X. — Ut qui maxime. " As much as any people whatsoever," i. e., 
no people is more addicted to them. The full expression would be ut Mi 
faciunt qui maxime observant. — Consuetudo. " The usual mode of taking." 
— In surculos amputant. " They cut into small slips." — Discretos. " Dis- 
tinguished." — Temere acfortuito. " Without premeditation and at random." 
Compare the explanation of Ritter : " Temere est nullo provisu consiliove 
spargentis ; fortuito, ut casus et fors tulit." A mode of divination somewhat 
similar to the one described in the text was practiced by the Scythians 
(Herod., iv., 67). — Si publice consuletur. "If the lots shall be consulted by 
public authority," i. e., by the state, in any matter of public importance. 
We have adopted consuletur with Ritter and others, as preferable to consu- 
latur, the conjecture of Rhenanus. The reference is to something assumed 
as a fact. — Ter s'ngulos tollit. " Thrice takes up a slip." Supply surculos. 
He takes up three slips one after the other ; not, as some understand it, 
each slip three times. — Si prohibuerunt. Supply surculi, i. e., sortes. — Sin 
permissum. Observe the change from the active prohibuerunt to the passive 
impersonal ; a change of voices not unusual in Tacitus. — Auspiciorum adhuc 
fides exigitur. " The sanction of auspices is required in addition," i. e., a 
confirmation by omens. 

Illud. " That other custom." Referring to the custom prevalent in othei 
lands, namely, among the Greeks and Romans. — Proprium gentis. "It is 
a peculiarity of this race," i. e., of the Germans. Tacitus speaks here of 
the Germans in contrast merely with the Romans and the Greeks ; for the 
same custom is recorded of the ancient Persians. (Herod., i., 189 ; vii., 
55.) — Iisdem nemonhus, &c. Compare chapter ix. — Nullo mortali opere con- 
lacti. " Profaned by no human labor." Literally, " touched," i. e., polluted 
or sullied.— Pressos sacro curru. "Harnessed to a sacred chariot." Lit- 
erally, "pressed by," &c. Compare Ovid, Met., xiv., 819 : "Pressos temone 
equos." — Ulli auspicio. " To any (other) kind of augury." — Se enim minis- 
tros deorum, &c. " For they consider themselves (during the ceremony) as 
the ministers of the gods, the horses as privy (to their will)," i. e., divinely 



174 NOTES ON THE | CHAP. XI 

inspired. After conscios we may mentally supply eorum voluntatis, oi some- 
thing equivalent. 

Observatio. " Mode of taking." — Explorant. " They seek to asceitain." 
-Cum electo. M With a chosen champion." — Committunt. " They match. " 
The verbs committer e, comparare, and componere are properly applied to 
watching two combatants together. So incompositus, " not well matched" 
(De Or. D., 26). — Pro prcejudicio. "As a presage." If the captive con- 
quers, it is a bad omen for them ; if, on the contrary, their own countryman 
proves victorious, it is a favorable presage. Pr&judicium is, properly, " a 
judgment or sentence, which affords a precedent to be afterward followed," 
and therefore, in the present instance, signifies, literally, " a means of judg- 
ing beforehand." 

Chap. XI. — Quorum penes plebem, &c. " The decision of which rests 
with the people." — Pertractentur. "Are carefully considered." This is 
the reading of all the early editions, and of almost -all the MSS. Muretus 
and others, however, have preferred prcstractentur ; but, in the first place, 
the words ea quoque militate against this conjecture ; and, besides, prcetrac- 
tare is found nowhere ease and is, in fact, not Latin, the ancient writers 
using ante tractare. — Fortuitum et subitum. "Accidental and sudden." — 
Cum aut inchoatur luna, &c. The moon was one of the principal deities 
of the Germans, and its changes, therefore, would naturally control their 
most important deliberations. 

Nee dierum numerum, &c. A trace of this mode of reckoning appears in 
the English words se'nnight and fortnight. Compare, also, the language of 
the Sacred Writings : " And the evening and the morning were the first 
day" {Gen., i., 5) ; and again, "In the ninth day of the month, from even 
unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." (Levit., xxiii., 32.) 

Sic constituunt, sic condicunt. " In this way they decree, in this way they 
summon," i. e., when they appoint a time in which any thing is to be done 
or summon an individual to justice, they compute and specify the period by 
so many nights, not by so many days. Brotier cites illustrations of this 
practice from the Salic laws : " Inter decern nodes" ( Tit., 48) : " In nodes 
quadraginta" (Tit., 50). — Illud ex libertate vitium. "The following evil 
habit arises from the freedom which they enjoy." — Cunctatione. This was 
not done purposely, and from intentional disobedience, but arose merely 
from negligence, because there was no one to compel them. 

Ut turbos placuit. "As soon as it has pleased the assembled throng." 
Observe that ut with the perfect indicative has the force of simul ac. Gro 
novius conjectures ut turba placuit, " as soon as the number has appeared 
sufficient," i. e., for the transaction of business. But the MSS. are all 
against this, neither is the change at all required. — Quibus turn et coercendi 
jus est. Compare chap. vii. — Auctoritate suadendi, &c. " More by reason 
of weight of influence in advising, than from any power to command." — Ar 
mis laudare. Compare Hist., v., 17 : " Ubi sono armorum tripudiisque (it* 
Hits mos) adprobata sunt dicta" 



CHAP. X.I., XIII.] GERMANIA. 175 

Chap. XII. — Apud consilium. The assemblies were convened chiefly to 
discuss matters relating to war, and the offences tried before them were 
principally such as affected the military interests of the nation. Other de 
.mquencies were placed under the cognizance of the principes, who were 
elected to administer justice among the cantons and villages. — Discrimen 
capitis intendere. " To prefer a capital charge." Literally, " to aim (or di- 
rect) at one a risk of life," i. e., a charge involving such a risk. — Ex delicto. 
" According to the degree of delinquency." — Infames. " Polluted." — In- 
super. " On top of them." Heavy stones were, in all probability, placed 
upon the hurdle. A body was found in 1817, at a considerable depth, in a 
moor in East Friesland, which is supposed to have undergone this punish- 
ment- -Illuc respicit. "Has the following principle in view." — Scelera. 
" Crimes." — Flagitia. u Acts of infamy." — Delictis. The dative, not the 
ablative. — Pro modo. " According to the measure of the offence." — Poena. 
The conjecture of Acidalius, and given by the best editors. The common 
text has pcenarum, and the sentence runs on to multantur. 

Qui vindicatur. " Who is righted," t. c, the injured party, whose wrongs 
are redressed. — Eliguntur, &c. Compare Cats., B. G., vi., 23. — Qui red- 
dant. " To dispense." Far superior to the common reading reddunt. — Con- 
silium simul et auctoritas. "Asa council of advice, and, at the same time 
a means of enforcing authority." 

Chap. XIII. — Nihil autem, &c. " They transact no business, however, 
either of a public or a private nature, without being armed." Compare 
Cats., B. G., v., 56. The early Greeks, in like manner, always went armed. 
(Thucyd., L, 6.) — Non moris, "It is no part of their customs." Supply 
est. — Suffecturum probaverit. " Shall have ascertained by actual trial that 
he will be equal to the task." Probaverit implies that some kind of proof 
of his capabilities was to be given by the young man. — Ornant. The sin 
gular ornat would have accorded better with the disjunctive vel. Compare 
Zumpt, $ 374. — Hcec apud illos toga. " This, with them, is the manly gown," 
i. e., this, with them, takes the place of tne manly gown, or toga virilis, as- 
sumed by the Roman youth when first entering upon manhood. — Mox reipub- 
licae. With this ceremony, as with marriage in the case of daughters, the 
power of the father over the child ended, and the young man now took place 
in public assemblies, &e. 

Dignationem. " The rank." Not the office as yet, which would be dig 
nitatem. — Ceteris robustioribus, &c. " They are associated, however, unto 
the other youths that are more robust of frame and have long since been 
approved, nor do they blush to be seen among the companions of these." 
By ceteris are meant the younger class of chieftains, that are vigorous in 
, early manhood, and have already distinguished themselves ; not the elder 
chiefs. Some editors read ceteris from a complete misapprehension of the 
meaning of the passage. With rubor supply est illis. 

Gradus quin etiam, &e. ''Moreover, even companionship itself has its 
*?veral gradations." The v rds et ipse are expunged by Walch, and look 



176 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XIV. 

very like a gloss upon quin etiam. — Quibus primts, &c. " As to who shall 
occupy the first place in the favor of their chief.' ' Supply sit with quibus. 
—Si numero ac virtute, &c. " If he be conspicuous for the number and 
valor of his followers." — Et ipsa plerumque fama, &c. " And they, for the 
most part, nearly bring wars to a close by their reputation alone," i. e., if a 
tribe, when attacked by another, can secure the aid of some distinguished 
chieftain, the enemy, as soon as this is known, generally desist from their 
nostile movements in a great degree, if not entirely. Profligare is " to cause 
to totter," literally. Hence it is frequently followed by conficere. From 
this has been derived the meaning of " nearly to finish." Compare Sen., 
de Bene/,, vii., 15 : " Profligata jam hcec, et pane ad exitum perducta qucestio 
est." In the Monumentum Ancyranum Augustus says, " Coepta profliga- 
taque opera a patre meo perfeci." 

Chap. XIY. — Jam vero. " Above all, however." The expression jam 
vero, like turn vero, is always employed to introduce the climax, and requires, 
therefore, occasionally a somewhat freer mode of rendering. — Infame ct 
probrosum. Observe that infame here refers to the actual infamy, cons id 
ered per se, and probrosum to the reproaching of one with that stain upon 
his character. — Prcecipuum sacramentum est. " Is their chief and most sa- 
cred obligation." Sacramentum here denotes a sacred duty, and on^ gen- 
erally guarded by an oath. Hence the term was specially applied \,o the 
military oath of the Roman soldiery ; and Tacitus, therefore, expressly em- 
ploys the word in the present case to show how binding among the Germans 
was the obligation to which he refers. 

Exigunt enim, &c. Montesquieu derives from this the origin of vassal- 
age. At first the prince gave to his nobles arms and provisions. As cu- 
pidity increased, money, and then lands were required, which last, from 
beneficia, became, at length, hereditary possessions, and were called fiefs. 
Hence arose the feudal system. (Esprit des Lois, xxx., 3.) — Ilium bellato- 
rem equum. " That war-steed." The pronoun is here meant to express 
gesture, or a pointing at the object sought to be obtained. So, likewise, it- 
lam in the succeeding clause. The expression bellatorem equum is poet- 
ical. Virgil, Georg., ii., 145. 

Nam epulce, et coiwvictus, &c. " For banquets and common tables, although 
homely, yet marked by abundant supply, take the place of pay." We have 
followed here the reading of the early editions, by which largi apparatus be- 
comes the genitive of quality. The other reading is as follows : Nam epulce, 
et, quamquam incomti, largi tamen apparatus, &c. " For banquets and en- 
tertainments, although homely, yet plentiful, take the place of pay." In 
chis latter reading, apparatus becomes the nominative plural. The former 
lection, however, is undoubtedly the true one. The pay of the companions 
did not consist in mere occasional banquets, but in their sharing a daily 
table with their leader, or, as the term convictus literally means, " a living 
with" him. 
F^spectare annum. " To await the produce of the year." Another poetic 



CHAP. XV., XVI. J GERMANIA 177 

form of expression. Annus is often used by the poets for proventus anni, 
or messis. Agriculture was not entirely neglected by the Germans ; it was 
only not prosecuted with any degree of zeal. Compare Cces., B. G., vi., 
22 : " Agricultural non student." The cultivation of the field was left, as 
Tacitus himself informs us (chap, xv.), to the women, old men, &c. — Voc 
are. " To challenge." — Mereri. " To earn." Pigrum et iners. " Spirit 
less and inert." 

Chap. XV. — Multum venatibus, &c. The MSS. have non multum, but 
the negative has been deservedly rejected from the text by many editors, at 
the suggestion of Lipsius, who in this way seeks to reconcile the account 
of Tacitus with that of Caesar (B. G. f vi., 21), who states expressly of the 
ancient Germans that "Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei milit 
aris consistit." So again (B. G., iv., 1) it is said of the ancient Suevi, 
that " multum sunt in venationibus." Ritter has an excellent note on the 
subject, in which he fully justifies the rejection of the negative. Walther 
supposes non multum to be taken comparatively in conjunction with plus 
that follows : " Venatibus etiam temporis aliquid transigunt, nee vero tarn mul- 
tum quam per otium." Few, however, will favor so forced an interpretation. 
— Per otium. Observe that per with the accusative denotes more of con- 
..'nuance than the simple ablative venatibus which precedes. 

Delegata. " Having been given over." Delegare or legare properly sig 
rifles "to commission another to act for you." — Penatium. "Family af 
airs." The Penates were the household deities of the Romans, presiding 
rwer all the affairs of the family, and the term is here employed figuratively 
or the family affairs themselves. Tacitus transfers the word from Roman 
to German customs. — Familia. Here "the family;" properly, however, it 
means the " gang of slaves" belonging to a family. — Diver sitatc. " Contra- 
riety." — Inertiam. " Indolence," i. e., exemption from active employment 
in the management of their private affairs. — Quietem. "Public repose,' 
i. e., the absence of warfare. — Vel armentorum vel frugum. Partitive gen 
Hives, " some portion either of cattle or of grain." We may supply aliquid 
— Gaudent. Referring to the principes. — Phalera torquesque. " Rich trap- 
rings and gold chains." — Jam et pecuniam. The Romans had not only pro- 
cured the friendship of Ariovistus, Segestes, Malovendus, and others, in 
tnis way, but had also begun to purchase peace of the Germans. Compare 
r.nap. xlii. 

Chap. XVI. — Nullas Germanorum populis, &c. Towns are, howevei, 
mentioned by Tacitus (Ann., ii., 62), Caesar (B. G., iv., 19), &c. Bekker 
contends that Tacitus, deceived by the false reports of others, has made h 
mistake here. As a general rule, however, especially for Germania Trans- 
rhenana, his observation seems correct. — Inter se junctas sedes. "Contig- 
uous habitations," i. e., sedes junctas inter se. He speaks first of the indi- 
vidual abedes, and then, shortly after, of the vici, or villages. — Colunt dis* 
creti ac diver si. " They dwell separate and scattered." — Utfons, ut campus, 

H2 



178 NOTES ON THE j_CHAP. XVII. 

&c. Traces of this early mode of dwelling remain in the endings of the 
names of many towns and villages, such as Born (spring), Bach (brook), 
Feld (field), Wald (wood), Hayn (grove), Berg (mountain), &cc.— Connexi& 
et cohcerentibus cediftciis. " With the buildings adjoining one another and 
running on in rows." — Camentorum. " Of building stone."' Ccementa are, 
properly, the chips made in hewing stones (from cado). The term is, then, 
applied to any kind of hewn stone for building purposes. — Materia. " Tim 
ber." — Citra speciem aut delect ationem. " Without any thing pleasing to the 
eye, or calculated to attract." The meaning is, that they took no pains to 
make it look well. Citra implies a stopping short of something : it could 
not have been used if they had taken pains to make it ugly. 

Quadam loca, &c. " They smear over certain parts of their dwellings 
with more than ordinary care," &c. With diligentius supply solito. — Terra, 
A kind of gypsum is meant. — Ut picturam, &c. " As to give the appearance 
of a painting and colored outlines." — Aperire. " To dig." — Suffugium hiemi. 
In these subterranean dwellings they appear to have carried on their man- 
ufacture of linen. Compare Pliny (H. 2V., xix., 2) : " Germani autem de- 
fossi atque sub terra id opus agunt"—Ignorantur. " Remain unknown." — 
Fallunt. " Escape observation." — Quod qucerenda sunt, Compare Ritter : 
" Dum hostis quoerit ubi nihil est, eoque tempus perdit, pauca ilia et jida re- 
ceptacula latent ipsum et effugiunt. 

Chap. XVII. — Sagum. The sagum was a mantle of coarse wool, or of 
goats' hair with the nap left on, fastened by a brooch, or other means, on the 
top of the left shoulder, and coming down as far as the knees. It was, more 
especially, the military costume for both officers and common soldiers. It 
was likewise worn by rustics. Sagum is properly a Celtic word, and the 
original of our " shag." — Consertum. " Fastened." — Cetera intecti. " Un- 
covered as to the rest of their persons." — Compare Caesar's account of the 
endurance of cold by the Suevi. (B. G\, iv., 1.) — Fluitanle. "Flowing 
loosely." — Sicut Sarmata ac Parthi. The Oriental nations, in general, 
were accustomed to wear loose and flowing garments. The attire of the 
Sarmatians and Parthians appears on coins. — Singulos artus exprimente. 
" Exhibiting the shape of each limb." 

Ripce. The bank as well of the Danube as the Rhine is meant ; in other 
words, the whole Roman frontier. — Negligenter. " With little care (in their 
selection)." — Exquisitius. "With more nicety (of choice)." The tribes 
near the Roman frontiers, having the means of procuring other kinds of 
dress, by commerce, did not exercise much care in selecting skins and furs : 
.hose in the interior, however, having no such means, were compelled to be 
more particular. — Nullus cultus. " No other kind of dress." 

Velamina. Put for pelles. — Spargunt. " They diversify." — Pellibusque 
belluarum. " And with strips of the fur of marine animals." Seals and the 
like are meant. We have placed a comma after maculisy to show that we 
have no hendiadys here, as some maintain, but that the allusion in maculis is 
to actual colored spots- — Exterior oceanus atque ignotum mare. According 



CHAP. XVIII., XIX.J GERMANIA. 179 

to Brotier, the northern ocean and the icy sea. — Purpura. A vegetable dye 
is meant. — Partem vestitus superioris. Put for superiorem vestitus partem.— 
Brachia ac lacertos. " As to their arms below and above the e'bow." Bra- 
chium is from the hand to the elbow ; lacertus, from the elbow to the shoulder. 

Chap. XVIII. — Sed et proxima pars pectoris patet. " (Nor this alone), 
but," &c. Some editions place these words at the end of the previous 
chapter. Our arrangement is the neater one. — Quamquam severe, &c. 
"Although there matrimonial ties are rigidly observed." — Qui non libidine, 
&c. "Who, not through incontinence (on their part), but on account of 
their rank, are solicited by very many offers of marriage." An illustration 
of the language of Tacitus may be found in the case of Ariovistus, as men- 
tioned by Caesar (B. G., i., 53). — Tntersunt parentes. Observe that adesse 
means merely " to be present," but interesse, " to be present and take part" 
in what is going on. — Munera probant. "Pass their approbation on the 
presents," i. e., examine into their sufficiency. — Munera non ad delicias, &c. 
The repetition of munera here is intended to add force to the narration, and 
is an instance of what grammarians term eTTavadiirTiidCtc. — Comatur. 
" May be adorned." Como is not derived from coma, " the hair," but is 
compounded of co (con) and emo, and signifies, therefore, " to put together," 
" arrange," " adorn." It is a word especially applicable to the female sex. 
Compare Terence (Heaut., ii., 2, 11) : " Dum moliuntur, dum comuntur, an- 
nus est" 

In hcec munera. " On the strength of these presents." The preposition 
in with the accusative is here equivalent to the Greek hiri with the dative 
(enl tovtolc tolc 66poic), the gifts being considered as the condition on 
which the whole rests. Compare Ritter, ad loc. — Hoc maximum vinculum, 
&c. "This they regard as the firmest bond of union, these as their mys- 
terious rites, these as their conjugal deities." This is all in opposition to 
Roman customs. The arcana sacra, in the case of the latter people, were 
connected with the ceremony of the confarreatio, the taking of the auspices, 
the sacrificing of a cow to Juno, &c. Anw/.g the Germans, on the other 
hand, they consisted merely in the giving of these simple bridal presents. — 
Extra virtutum cogitationes, &c. " Excused from exertions of fortitude, 
and exempt from the casualties of war." — Auspiciis. "Ceremonies." — 
Denuntiant. "Proclaim." — Accipere se, qua, &c. "That she receives 
what she is to transmit inviolate and worthy of their acceptance to her 
children ; what her daughters-in-law are to receive, and, in their turn, de- 
liver over to her grandchildren." The reference is to the arma, which are 
not to be disgraced by any unfaithful conduct on her part, but to be handed 
down as heir-looms. — Referant. We have given here the conjecture oi 
Rhenanus. The MS. lection is referantur, which some make still worse 
by reading rursus qua. 

Chap. XIX. — Septa pudicitia. " Fenced around by feelings of chastity." 
Several MSS. and editions have septa in the ablative, which would imph 



1 80 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XX. 

that a strict guard was kept over them, to preserve them from corruption ; 
whereas septa means that their own modesty was a sufficient defence against 
ali attempts upon their honor, which agrees much better with the general 
sense of the description. — Nullis spectaculorum illecebris, &c. This is pur- 
posely in contrast with Roman manners. On the corrupting influence of 
the Roman games and entertainments, consult Seneca, Epist., vii., 27; 
Juvenal, Sat., i., 55, seqq., &c. — Literarum secreta. " Clandestine corre- 
spondence in writing." — Paucissima in tarn numerosa gente adulteria. On 
the frequency of this crime at Rome under the emperors, consult Ann., ii., 
85 ; Juv., vi., 48 ; Id., ix., 22. — Quorum pcena prcesens. " The punishment 
of these is immediate." 

Accisis crinibus. "With her hair cut short." Cutting off the hair was 
regarded as a most disgraceful punishment. In Luitprand's Laws of the 
Langobardi (ii., 17), we find it ordered, " adulter as decalvari, etfustigari per 
vicos vicinantes ipsius loci" — Per omnem vicum. For per iotum vicum. — - 
PublicatcB pudicitiae. " To open prostitution." — Non invenerit. " Such an 
offender will not easily find." Observe the employment of the subjunctive 
as a softened future (Madvig, § 350, b). — Sceculum. " The fashion of the 
age." Another hit at the corrupt manners of the Romans. 

Melius quidem adhuc, &c. " Still better, indeed, do those states act," 
i. e., those communities of the Germans. Supply agunt. The later Latin 
writers use adhuc to strengthen comparatives, where the earlier ones (Cic- 
ero, for example) would have employed etiam. — Et cum spe votoque, &c. 
" And (in which) the expectations and wishes of the wife are brought, to a 
close once for all." Literally, " and (in which) it is done for with the ex- 
pectation and wish of a wife," &c. According to Procopius (ii., 14), wives* 
among the Heruli were accustomed to hang themselves at the graves oi 
their first and only husbands. This is like the practice of the Suttees in 
India. 

Ultra. " Beyond this," i. e., their first union.— Ne tamquam maritum, &c 
" That they may love him, not as it were a husband, but as marriage itself.' 
On losing their husbands they lose marriage itself. — Finire. " To limit," 
i. e., by murder or abortion. — Ex agnate. By agnati Tacitus means chil- 
dren born after there was already an heir to the name and property of the 
father. Generally by agnati in Roman law were meant relations on the 
father's side. On the frequency of infanticide among the Romans, on the 
other hand, consult Ann., iii., 25, 26 ; xv., 19 ; Juvenal, ii., 32 : vi., 366, 
se qq, — Quam alibi bones leges. Corruption was never more rife at Rome 
than after the passage of the Lex Julia and the Lex Papia Poppaea. The 
earliest laws of the Germans, those, namely, of the Salic code, date only 
from the fifth century of our era. 

Chap. XX. — Nudi ac sordidi. " Naked and dirty." This refers to the 
young children, just growing up. In more advanced youth a scanty attire 
would be worn. — In hos artus, &c. t The Germans, as already remarked, 
were of great personal size as compared with the Romans and other civilized 



CHAP. XX.] GERMANIA. 181 

nations. Compare chap. iv. ; "Magna corpora" and Caesar, B. G., i., 39.— 
Uberibus. The term ubera is generally employed when speaking of animals. 
—Nee ancillis, &c. Among the Romans, on the contrary, the care of the 
child was generally given over to Greek nurses, and some of the common 
domestic slaves. 

Dominum ac servum. The subject-class among the ancient Germans may 
be divided into three branches : 1. Tributaries, composed of those who 
when any country was conquered, retained their possessions, but paid an 
annual tribute to the conquerors for this privilege. 2. Serfs (adscripti 
glebce). 3. Common household slaves (servi, mancipia). — Kullis educationis 
deliciis. "By ro indulgence in the mode of bringing up." — Donee (Etas 
separet, &c. Age is here said to separate the free-born, when they are found 
on trial to be able to bear arms (compare chap. xiii.). Valor, again, is said 
to recognise them as her own, when they display deeds of bravery, which, 
it is presumed, can only be displayed by the free. As regards donee with 
the subjunctive, consult notes on chap. i. 

Juvenum Venus. "The marriages of the young men." — Inexnausta pu 
bertas. "Their youthful vigor is unimpaired." — Festinantur. "Brought 
forward at an early period," i. e., given early in marriage. Tacitus is here 
comparing northern with southern habits. In Italy, and other southern 
countries, the sexes arrive at maturity much sooner than among northern 
nations. Cicero's daughter, for instance, was betrothed at ten years of age, 
and married probably at thirteen or fourteen. — Eadem juventa, similis pro- 
ceritas. "There is the same .period of youth, a similar development of 
form." Compare Weishaupt, ad loc. " Virgines in commune non sunt estate 
minor es quam juvenes quibus nubunt. Sponsa fere eadem statura et magni- 
tudine corporis est, qua sponsus." — Pares validaque miscentur. " They are 
united equally-matched and robust." — Referunt. "Inherit." Literally, 
"bring back again," i. e., exhibit again to the view. 

Sororum filiis, &c. Hence, in the history of the Merovingian kings of 
France, so many instances occur of attachment and favor shown toward 
sisters and their children, and so many wars undertaken on their account. 
Compare Montesquieu, Esprit des Lois, xviii., 22. — Qui apud patrem. " As 
with the father." We have given apud, the conjecture of Rhenanus, with 
Bekker, Ritter, and other editors. The MS. reading is ad, unless an ab- 
breviation for apud be mistaken for it, which is more than probable. — Et in 
accipiendis, &c. In taking hostages from any one, they demand the children 
of his sister rather than his own. — Tamquam ii, &c. " As if these both hold 
a firmer sway over the affections, and possess a wider influence over tht 
family at large." Tamquam is followed by the subjunctive here, because 
the views and sentiments of others are given. Some editions read in ani 
mum, making in have the force of quod attinet ad, and introducing a very 
awkward construction. This is justly condemned by Ritter, who thinks 
that in has crept in here from in accipiendis preceding. 

Liberi. Under this term are here ncluded the nepotes and pronepotes. — 
Nullum testament urn-. There was no will, because the ru)es of succession 



182 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XXI., XXli. 

were estab isheu by law. — Patrui, avunculi. " Paternal uncles, maternal 
ones." — Quanto plus propinquorum, &c. By propinqui are meant " blood- 
relations ;" by affines, " relations by marriage." — Nee ulla orbitatis prcemia. 
" Nor are there any advantages resulting from being childless." Tacitu? 
alludes to the court paid at Rome to rich persons without children by lega- 
cy-hunters. This practice formed a frequent subject of censure and ridi- 
cule with the Roman writers. 

Chap. XXI. — Suscipere. "To adopt." — Nee implacabiles durant. 
** These (enmities), however, do not continue implacable." Observe that 
nee has here the force ofnon tamen ( Weishaupt, ad loc). — Homicidium. This 
word occurs also in Pliny the elder, Petronius, and Quintilian, but never 
in the writers of the golden age of Latinity. — Recipitque satisf actionem, &c. 
"And the whole family (of the offender) becomes responsible for the pay- 
ment of the fine." Recipit is here put for recipit in se. Some, less correctly, 
interpret this to mean that the whole family of the injured party receives a 
portion of the fine. A law did actually exist in Germany, in ancient times, 
in accordance with the view which we have taken of this passage, as we 
learn from the Lex Tal, tit., 61., leg., 1, 2. It was afterward abrogated by 
King Childebert. — Juxta libertatem. " When united with freedom," i. e. t 
in a free state. This employment of juxta in the sense of apud, or in with 
the ablative, is characteristic of the writers of the silver age. 

Convictibus et hospitiis. " In common tables and acts of hospitality," 
Compare Weishaupt, ad loc. " Convictus sunt conventicula socialia inter 
amicos ; hospitium est exceptio peregrinorum." — Pro fortuna adparatis, 
epulis. "With a carefully prepared banquet according to his means." — 
Cum defecere. Supply epulce, in the sense of " the means of entertainment." 
— Hospes. " The host." — Monstrator hospitii et comes. " Becomes the guide 
and companion to the hospitable board of another." — Humanitate. " Cor- 
diality." — Quantum ad jus hospitii. " As far as regards the rights of hospi- 
tality," i. e., the right of the individual to a hospitable reception. — Sed nee 
data imputant, &c. " But they neither set down things given (by them) to 
the account of another, nor do they feel themselves bound by things which 
have been received (by them)," i. e., they neither consider that they confer 
an obligation by what they give, nor incur one by what they receive. Ob- 
serve here the middle meaning of obligantur. — Victus inter hospites comis. 
" Their manner of living among their (regularly-invited) guests is marked 
by affability." This is probably a mere gloss or marginal note which has 
crept into the text. It certainly is not much, if at all, needed. 

Chap. XXII. — Statim e somno. " Immediately after sleep." So tn in 
Greek, ye?MV ek itiv TrpooSev daupvov (Xen., Cyrop., i.. 4, 28). Ab is used 
in the same way by Livy (xxii., 40), " Ab hoc sermone ptofectum." — In diem. 
The Romans, on the contrary, rose early. — Lavantur. "They wash them- 
selves." In a middle sense, like obligantur in the previous chapter. — Plur- 
im>t.m. " During the greatest part of the year " Supply anni or temporis. 



CHAP XXIII.] GERMAXIA. 183 

—Separata singulis sedes, &c. Eating at separate tables is generally an in- 
dication of voracity. Traces of it occur also in the Homeric poems. — Diem 
noctemque continuare potando. "To keep drinking day and night without 
intermission." Literally, " to make day and night continuous by drinking." 
— Vt. "As is usual." Supply esse solet. — Scd et de reconciliandis, 6:c. 
Herodotus relates the same thing of the Persians (i., 133 ; ii., 72). — Adscisc- 
endis. In the sense of eligendis. — Simplices. "Sincere." — Magnas." He 
roic ones." 

Gens non astuta nee callida, &c. " This nation, not acute nor crafty, 
still disclose the secrets of the breast amid the freedom of festivity." Adhuc 
is here equivaler t to ad hoc usque tempuc. The Germans, according to Tac- 
itus, had not yet learned that vice of civilized nations, the art of hiding the 
secret sentiments of the bosom. Ritter connects adhuc with secreta, ex- 
plaining the phrase by quce adhuc pectore clausa erant. This, however, 
wants force. — Mens. " The plans and opinions." — Et salva utriusque tern- 
poris, ccc. " And the account of each time is kept even." The expression 
salva ratio is properly used when the debtor and creditor sides of an account 
balance one another. So here Tacitus means to say, that by the method 
they pursued of deliberating when they knew not how to dissemble, and de- 
ciding when there was no chance of their erring, they kept the balance even, 
so that their rashness and caution mutually checked and restrained each 
other. 

The following remarks of Passow deserve to be inserted here. In almost 
every instance, he observes, that is mentioned in this chapter, the habits of 
the Romans were opposed to those of the Germans. They used to rise be- 
fore daylight, to play at ball or take exercise of some kind before they 
washed or bathed ; at dinner they used seats which were joined together. 
By the laws of the Twelve Tables they were forbidden to appear in arms in 
the city ; to drink in the day time was esteemed disgraceful; and, lastly, 
mutual diffidence and distrust prevailed at their banquets. 

Chap. XXIIL — Potui. "For drink. " — Frumento. "Wheat." The 
proper Latin term for this was triticum. — Corruptus. " Changed by ferment- 
ation." The allusion here is to ale or beer. Observe that corrvpius does 
not necessarily imply being spoiled ; it would be applied to any natural pro- 
duction, the character of which is completely changed by art to adapt it to 
the use of man. A beverage, similar to the one mentioned here by Tacitus, 
was in use among the Egyptians (Herod., ii., 77). — Ripcs. The reference 
is to the banks of both the Rhine and Danube, but more particularly the 
former. According to Caesar (B. G., iv., 2), they allowed no wine to be 
brought in among them. The first vines were introduced into Germany by 
the Emperor Probus, as is thought. (Yopisc. } c. 19.) 

Agrestia poma. "Wild fruit." Pomum is a very general term, and in- 
cludes any eatable fruit. — Recens /era. "Fresh venison." More liter- 
llly, "fresh wild meat." Supply caro. The Romans, on the other hand, 
preferred such viands in a tainted state. Compare Gruber, ad loc., and 



184 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXIV., XXV 

Horace, Sat., ii., 8, 6. — Lac concretum. "Coagulated milk." Curds are 
meant. The Germans did not understand the art of making cheese. They 
were acquainted, however, with the process of making butter, which was 
used by the higher class. Some incorrectly think that butter is here meant 
by Tacitus. — Adparatu. " Studied preparation.* — Blandimentis. " Coax- 
ings of the appetite." — Ebrietati. " Their propensity to intoxication."— 
Haud minus facile, &c. This is not to be understood as meaning that the 
Germans were easy to be conquered by arms, but merely that their own 
vices proved formidable means of subjugation. 

Chap. XXIV. — Quibus id ludicrum est. " Who engage in this sport." — 
Infestas. " Pointed at them." Observe that there is nothing in infestus 
itself which ever implies hostility. Festus is only the old participle of/ero, 
like gestus from gero. — Artem. " Skill." — Decorem. " Gracefulness of 
movement." Decor is, properly, a poetical word, and was probably not em- 
ployed in prose until after the Augustan age. It is especially frequent in 
Quintilian. — Non in qu&stum tamen, &c. " (They do) not, however, (do 
\Ms) as a source of gain, or for hire." Supply hocfaciunt. The case was 
lirectly the reverse among the Romans, in both their scenic and circensian 
celebrations. — Lascivice pretium est. "Is the (sole) recompense of a piece 
©f sport." 

Aleam {quod mirere), &c. Although the Romans were much addicted to 
gambling, yet it was esteemed disreputable, and was forbidden by the laws, 
except during the Saturnalia. — Sobrii inter seria. " When sober, amid se- 
rious employments," i. e., regarding it as one of these. — Extremo ac novis- 
simo jactu. " With the closing and latest throw." A thing is said to be ex- 
tremum as closing a series, and novissimum as being the newest or latest 
that presents itself. — Juvenior. The more usual form is junior ; still, how- 
ever, the more regularly constructed juvenior is defended by good MSS. — 
Ea est in re prava pervicacia. " Such is their obstinate perseverance in a 
bad practice." — Fidem. " Honor." The good faith of the ancient Germans 
in keeping their promises was proverbial. — Tradunt. " They hand over to 
others," i. e., they rid themselves of. — Victories. '♦ Of such a victory." 

Chap. XXV. — Ceteris servis. From the slaves that are sold by them he 
now comes to those that are retained for domestic employments. — Discriptis 
" Distributed." The true reading here is undoubtedly discriptis, which 
though of frequent occurrence in the MSS., is commonly altered in the edi 
tions to descriptis. This latter form, however, does not lead to the idea of 
listribution, since describere is merely "to mark out," &c. — Non in nostrum 
m'-rem. The Romans went to a very great length in appointing slaves to 
superintend the various departments of their domestic economy. Among 
the wealthy, in later times, there was scarcely a single household duty that 
was not allotted to some particular slave, who attended to that and nothing 
else. Compare Blair's Slavery among the Romans, p. 131, seqq. 

Quisque. " Each slave." The slaves here meant, as appears from whaJ 



CHAP. XXV.] GERMANIA. 185 

follows, were a kind of rustic bondsmen, and their condition was the same 
as that of the vassals, or serfs, who a few centuries ago made up the great 
body of the people in every country in Europe. They were attached to the 
soil, and went with it like the Roman coloni, and hence we see why each 
had an abode (sedes) of his own, and regulated his own household affairs 
(suos penates). The Germans, at a later period, imitating the Romans, had 
slaves of inferior condition, to whom the name of slave became appropriated 
while those in a state of rural vassalage were called Liden {Liti or Litones) 

Ut colono. " As upon a tenant," i. e., as upon one of those whom we 
Romans call coloni. The term colonus is here employed in the sense which 
it had during the later imperial period. The coloni paid a certain yearly 
rent for the land on which they lived, and were attached to the soil (glebes 
adscripti), from which, as a general rule, they could not be separated. — Hac- 
tenus. "Thus far," i. e., he is not bound to render any other service. — 
Cetera domus officio,, &c. " The other (which are) household duties his own 
wife and children discharge," i. e., the wife and children of the master. 
Domus here refers to the house of the master, as distinguished from the 
lowly dwelling of the slave. The Germans did not employ at this period 
slaves in household duties, but used for this purpose the services of their 
own wives and children. 

iVo/i disciplina et severitate. " Not in the way of chastisement, and from 
any severe infliction of the same." Not a mere hendiadys, as some make 
it, for disciplines severitate, but a much stronger form of expression. — Nisi 
quod impune. " Except that they do it with impunity," i. e., kill their slave 
with impunity. A private enemy could not, on the other hanc\ be slain 
with impunity, since a fine (Wergeld) was affixed to the homicide ; but a . 
man might kill his own slave without any punishment. If, however, he 
killed another person's slave, he was obliged to pay his price to the owner. 

Libertini non multum, &c. Among the Franks, the freedmen seldom at- 
tained to the full right of those who were free-born. They could not inherit 
property, or give testimony against free-born men. If a freedman, moreover, 
died without children, his property went to the treasury, as appears from 
the Ripuarian Code (tit. lvii., 1, 4). The true reading here is libertini, not 
liberti, as many give. The Roman writers employ the term libertus when 
referring to some particular master ; as Cessans libertus, Augusti libertus, 
&c. ; but they use libertinus when designating the class generally ; as, li- 
bertinus erat. — Momentum. ' Weight," i. e., influence. — Numquam in civi- 
tale. Directly the reverse of the state of things in Rome under evil em- 
perors. 

Qua regnantur. " Which are governed by kings." Literally, " which are 
raigned over." This employment of regno m the passive voice departs from 
ordinary usage, since in the active voice it is used intransitively, and we 
would expect, therefore, the impersonal construction, " quibus regnatum est 
or regnatur. ■ Similar instances, however, occur in other parts of Tacitus. 
— Ibi enim, &c. As at Rome under bad emperors. — Impares libertini, &c. 
" The subordinate condition of freedmen is a proof of the value of freedom." 



180 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXVI. 

t. e., the fact that ft sedmen are held in such low estimation is a proof of tht 
value set upon freedom and the rights of freemen. 

Chap. XXVI. — Fenus agitare. " To lend out money at interest."— i?< 
in usuras extendere. "And to increase it by interest upon interest," i. e 
compound interest. This was called by the Greeks avaTOKta/ioc. Com« 
pare the explanation of Weishaupt : " Fenus in usuras extendere est facere 
fenus de usuris (non solum de sorte), usuram de usura sumere, fructum de 
fructu." — Ideoque magis servatur, &c. " And, therefore, the abstaining from 
this practice is more effectually observed, than if the practice itself had been 
actually forbidden." A remarkable instance of conciseness in the original, 
which can not be imitated in a translation. The reference to what precedes 
is rather a mental than a grammatical one, and we must therefore supply , 
with servatur (which here has the force of observatur) some such expression 
as abstinentia a fenore agitando, the negative idea arising from ignotum. — < 
Quam si vetitum esset. Usury was forbidden at Rome, though in vain, by 
the laws of the Twelve Tables, and also by various enactments brought 
forward by Licinius, Genucius, Sempronius, Julius Caesar, and others. 

Ab universis in vices. " By whole communities in turn." Tacitus means 
that the same territories were occupied by different tribes or communities 
in turn, to a greater or less extent, according to the number of persons to 
ill them. The best commentary on the whole passage is to be found in the 
account given by Caesar of the Suevi (B. G., iv., 1). Some editors, how- 
ever, disregarding the authority of Caesar, read vicis for in vices, interpreting 
it as meaning the communities formed by the assemblage of different clans 
and families. Ritter, again, reads in vicos, "by villages," equivalent, ac- 
cording to him, to utfiant vici. The interpretation which we have adopted, 
however, is decidedly the best. 

Et superest ager. " And a portion of ground remains over and above (each 
division)," i. e., there is always a portion of ground remaining undivided. 
This was allowed to lie fallow until new cultivators took possession of it 
in the following year. There was no danger, therefore, of the lands be- 
coming exhausted by repeated sowings on the part of each successive body 
of settlers, since all the land was not put under cultivation at any one 
time. 

Nee enim contendunt. "Nor, indeed, do they attempt to vie." Tacitus 
means that they do not pretend to bestow on the culture of the soil a degree 
of labor that may equal its fertility and extent. — Sola seges. " A crop of 
grain alone," i. e., wheat and barley, to the exclusion of green crops, pulse, 
and vegetables. — Species. "Seasons." The different "aspects" of na- 
ture in different portions of the yezx.—Intellectum ac vocabula habent. ** Are 
known and have names." The employment here of the noun intdlectus in- 
dicates the silver age of Latinity, and intellectum habent is equivalent to in- 
telliguntur, i. e., nota sunt. — Auctumni perinde nomen, &c. Tacitus, at first 
view, seems to be in error here. The Germans bad a term Herbist or Her- 
pist, in more modern German Herbst, whence the English harvest. Thus 



chap. xxv\ , xxvin.J germania. 187 

m Eginhart's Life of Charlemagne (c. 29), the month of November is called 
Herbist-manoth (i. e., Herbst-monat). But the truth is, the word Herbist or 
Herbst marked rather the crop itself than the season which produced it. — 
Bona. Particularly the grape and olive. 

Chap. XXVII. — Funerum nulla ambitio. "There is no parade about 
their funerals." Among the Romans it was directly the reverse. At Rome 
funerals were often extremely expensive and magnificent, and plays were 
acted, and gladiatorial combats exhibited in honor of the deceased. Sumptu- 
ary laws were enacted at various times to restrain the lavish expenditure 
on these occasions. {Ann., iii., 2 ; Hist., iv., 47 ; Plin., H. N., xii., 41.) 
— Certis lignis. " By means of particular kinds of wood," i. e., such as 
were set apart for this purpose by law or custom. The custom of burning 
the bodies of the dead continued to prevail in Germany, even after the in- 
troduction of Christianity, until forbidden under pain of capital punishment 
by Charlemagne. — Struem rogi cumulant. " They load the heap of the fu- 
neral pile," i. e., the wood heaped up to form the pile. — Sua caique arma, 
&c. The deceased was supposed to follow the same occupations after 
death as in life. — Equus. On opening the tomb of one of the old Frank 
kings, a horse-shoe was found, the earliest specimen of the kind known. 

Sepulcrum cespes erigit. "A grassy mound forms the elevation of the 
tomb." The construction is a poetical one. We find also, in Seneca {Ep., 
8), " Hanc domum utrum cespes erexerit, an varius lapis." Barrows {tumuli) 
containing urns, in which the ashes were deposited, are of frequent occur- 
rence in Britain, Germany, and other countries. — Monumentorum, &c. 
Tacitus had in view the splendid mausoleum of Augustus, as well as the 
other lofty and expensive funeral structures in the vicinity of the Roman 
capital. — Arduum. Here "lofty." Its proper meaning is "steep." — Po 
nunt. " They lay aside." For deponunt. — Lugere. " To bewail the loss 
of friends." Juugeo and luctus always refer to mourning for the dead. 
{Doederlein, Lat. Syn., iii., p. 237.) — In commune. Latinity of the silver 
age. — Omnium. "Taken collectively." — Instituta ritusque. The former 
of these terms refers to civil, the latter to religious affairs. — Quae nationes. 
" What tribes." Ritter thinks the asyndeton here a harsh one, in conse- 
quence of the introduction of a new idea, and suggests that Tacitus may 
have written quceque (i. e., et quae), from which qucs arose by a mistake of 
the copyists. 

Chap. XXVIII. — Summus auctorum, &c. " The deified Julius, the high- 
est of authorities." The reference is to the account given of Germany by 
Julius Caesar {B. G,, vi., 24). On the acquaintance of the ancients with 
Germany, consult Geographical Index. — Divus. Consult notes on chap, 
viii. : " sub divo Vesvasiano." — Quantulum enim amnis obstabat, &c. " For 
k ow small an obstacle did a river oppose, according as each nation had be- 
come powerful, to its seizing upon and changing settlements, as yet ly- 
ing in common and divided off by no power of monarchies," i. e. % and un- 



188 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXVJH 

appropriated by any powerful monarchies. The River Rhine is meant. — 
Igitur inter. Supply loca before inter. For a similar use o igitur at the 
beginning of a sentence, see Vit. Agric, c. 13. — Hercyniam silvam .... 
Moznum. Consult Geographical Index. — Boiemi nomen. "The name of 
Boiemum." Boiemum or Boihemum probably means " the home of the Boii" 
(Heim, Heimath). So that, in all likelihood, Bohemia is the Boiemum of 
Tacitus. Latham, however, contends for Bavaria (Boioaria). — Significat- 
que loci, &c. "And implies along-standing reminiscence of the original 
settlement." — Quamvis mutatis cultoribus. Observe that quamvis is here 
for quamquam, a usage occurring only, as already remarked, in the later 
prose writers. 

Sed utrum Aravisci, &c. Tacitus here calls the Osi a German nation, 
whereas in chapter xliii. he remarks that their use of the Pannonian tongue 
proves them not to be Germans. Some editors think that in the present 
passage their settlements only are referred to, but the contradiction is too 
manifest to be remedied in this way. Passow regards Germanorum natione 
as an interpolation, which is probably the true view of the case. — Eadem 
utriusque ripce, &c. " The advantages and disadvantages of either bank 
were the same," i. e., there was the same freedom and the same poverty on 
both sides of the stream. The river here meant is the Danube. — Treveri et 
Nervii. Consult Geographical Index. — Circa adfeciationem, &c. "As re- 
gards an eager striving after a German origin." We have here two speci- 
mens of the Latinity of the silver age, namely, the employment of circa in 
the sense of quod adtinet ad, and the use of the noun adfectatio. — Separentut. 
In a middle sense. 

Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes. Consult Geographical Index. — Ne Ubii 
quidem, &c. The Ubii were the allies of Caesar against the Suevi, and 
were afterward transported to the left bank of the Rhine by Agrippa (B.C. 
38). By origine is meant their German origin before they became a colony. 
— Quamquam esse meruerint. " Although they have earned (the honor) of 
being." — Conditoris sui nomine. We have no direct evidence as to whc 
founded the colony in question. The town (now Cologne) was called Co ■ 
Ionia Agrippina or Agrippinensis, the first of which names would mean, " the 
Colony of Agrippa," and the second " the Colony of Agrippina." Now 
Agrippa was engaged in this quarter on two occasions ; while, on the other 
hand, Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, and grand-daughter of Agrip- 
pa, was born in this place. It is probable, therefore, that the colony was 
originally founded by Agrippa, and was called Colonia Agrippina merely, 
until Agrippina, after her union with Claudius, sent out her own colony, 
of which Tacitus elsewhere makes mention {Ann., xii., 27), and the object 
of which, in all likelihood, was to strengthen the first. The name Colonia 
Agrippinensis began after this, it would seem, to be employed in common 
with the other. 

Experimento fidei. " From trial having been made of their fidelity," i. c., 
.n consequence of their tried fidelity. Observe that experimento is here the 
*blative. — Ut arcerent &c. To keep their own countrymen in check and 



CHAP. XXIX. J GERMANIA. 189 

prevent them from crossing over into the Roman territories ; not placed 
there to *:e watched themselves by the Romans. 

Chap. XXIX. — Yirtute prcscipui. " The most conspicuous for valor." — 
Batavi. Consult Geographical Index. — Ripa. When ripa is used alone, 
in speaking of the Rhine, it generally means, as in the present instance, the 
left bank of the stream. — Insulam Rheni amnis. Known in Ancient Geog 
raphy as the Insula Batavorum, the chief town in which was Imgdunum Bat- 
avorum, now Leyden. — Seditione domestica, &c. The time when this hap- 
pened is not given. Cassar found them already established in their new 
seats. — In quibus, &c. " To become in these a part of the Roman empire." 
This marks, of course, the consequence, not the intent. Equivalent to ut 
in his . . . . fierent. Hence the subjunctive. — Manet honos, &c. "The 
honor and the badge of this early alliance still remains." — Nee contemnun- 
tur. " They are neither insulted." Referring to the degradation connected 
with the payment of tribute. — Publicanus. The publicani, " or farmers of 
the revenue," were principally members of the equestrian order. They did 
not themselves, however, take any part in the actual levying or collecting of 
the taxes in the provinces, but this part of the business was performed by an 
inferior class of men, who were notorious for their insolence and oppression. 
— Adterit. A peculiarly appropriate term. The verb adterere denotes, prop- 
erly, "to wear away by dint of rubbing," and is here very fitly applied to 
the waste of private substance occasioned by repeated and ruinous ex 
actions. 

Oneribus et collationibus. " From burthens and contributions." Onera, 
as Ritter remarks, refer to the ordinary taxation ; collationes, to contribu- 
tions imposed by the Romans on special occasions. — In eodem obsequio. " In 
the same state of obedience." — Ultra Rhenum. The Rhine was always re- 
garded as the natural line of division between the Roman and German sway. 
■ — Ita sede finibusque, &c. " Thus, as regards settlement and borders, they 
live on their own bank (of the stream) ; in sentiment and attachment they 
act with us." After ripa supply agunt in the sense of vivunt. There is 
nothing synonymous here, as some suppose, in mente and animo. By mens 
is here meant cogitatio ; by animus, on the other hand, voluntas. — Adhuc . . . 
acrius animantur. " They are still rendered more spirited." They occupied 
a mountainous and woody country, and had hence a more rigorous climate. 
Botticher (Lex. Tacit., p. 33) gives adhuc in this passage the meaning ol 
insuper or prceterea ; but it is better to regard it, with Gruber, as a particle 
of time. 

Non numeraverim. " I do not feel inclined to number." Compare note 
on crediderim, chapter ii. — Decumates agros. " The tithe-lands." Consult 
Geographical Index. — Dubias possessionis. At first these lands lay beyond 
the Roman boundary, and were unprotected against the incursions of the 
uostile Germans. — Limite acto, &c. "A boundary line having been run. 
and fortified posts having been pushed forward." — Sinus. "A nook." — 
Prmiicicz. Germania Cisrhenana, or Raetia. 



190 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXX., XXXi, 

Chap. XXX. — Ultra hos. Tacitus means, beyond the tribes already 
mentioned as dwelling on or near the Rhine ; not those occupying the Deo 
umates Agri. — Initium sedis, &c. " Make the first rude beginning of theis 
settlements from the Hercynian forest." Observe the peculiar force of the 
expression initium inchoant, which is by no means pleonastic, as some sup 
pose. The verb inchoare strictly refers to the first sketch or rude outline 
of any work, or to the first rude commencement of any thing, and is heve 
peculiarly apposite. — Effusis. "Level." — Dura^t siqiidtm colles. " Since- 
hills continue on here in a long range." That is, th^ h^lls here are not iso 
lated hills, but continue for a long distance, and gradually subside. — Rare 
cunt. " Become scattered." 

Prosequitur. When a magistrate left Rome to tak*. the command d h 
province, it was usual for his friends to "escort" him p^rc ol the way ; th. 
term used for this was prosequi. — Deponit. " Sets dowxi." The settle- 
ments of the Catti lie along a continuous range of hills. When the ridg* 
sinks down, and the chain is broken, it bends to the eait -and leaves tb < 
Cattj. The image conveyed by the whole clause is a very striking one. 
Observe, moreover, the peculiar beauty of the possessive snos as indicatinr 
intimate companionship. 

Duriora corpora. " Hardier frames than ordinary." Supply solito. — Striczx. 
'* Compact." — XJt inter Germanos. " As far as (we may expect this) amon( 
Germans." More freely, " considering they are Germans." The German 
were regarded by the Romans as deficient in the qualities mentioned in th 
text. — Proeponere electos. "To place over themselves chosen leaders.' 
The infinitives that follow here do not depend, as some think, on soleni 
understood, but are closely connected with what precedes, each clause bein^ 
explanatory of, or in apposition with multum rationis ac sollertice. — Nosse 
"To keep." — Differre impetus. "To restrain impetuous movements. "- 
Disponere diem, &c. " To assign to each part of the day its proper dut* 
to fortify themselves during the night." 

Nee nisi Romance, &c. In the age of Tacitus, the wars carried on by th 
Romans were only against undisciplined barbarians ; so that order and di* 
cipline might, with some reason, be claimed as peculiar to the Romans. Wi 
have given here Romance with Orelli, Walch, Selling, and others. Th* 
common reading is nee nisi ratione disciplines concessum, " nor conceded sav*» 
by the steady operation of discipline," i. e., only as a consequence of dis 
cipline. — Ferramentis, " With iron tools," as axes, spades, pickaxes, &c.~ 
Copiis. " Provisions." — Alios ad prcelium, &c. Other tribes of the Ge* 
mans think only of the first battle ; the Catti, on the other hand, adopt n 
regular plan for a campaign. — Velocitas juxta formidinem, &c. " Rap if* 
movements border upon fear ; deliberate ones are more akin to steady valor * 
That is, equestrian conflicts are uncertain, and marked by sudden change* 
of fortune ; whereas the steady movements of infantry are more generally 
crowned with lasting success. 

Chap. XXXI. — Et alii* Gcrmanorum populis, &c. "What amoni, othe* 



CHAP. 



XXXII.] GERMANIA. 1 { J 



tribes of the Germans is usually done through rare and individual daring, has 
become among the Catti a matter of common consent," t. e., a regular and 
established custom. Literally, "through rare and private daring on the 
part of each individual." — Vertit. For conversum est. Many transitive verbs 
especially such as express motion, are used either intransitively or for pas- 
sives. Compare Bentley, ad Hor., Carm., iv., 10, 5 ; Kritz, ad Sail., Cat., 
p. 37. — Adoleverint. The subjunctive, because a custom is referred to. — 
Votivum obligatumque, &c. " A condition of visage, the result of a vow, and 
by which they have bound themselves to a life of daring." — Revelantfrontem 
By cutting the hair and shaving the beard. — Pretia nascendi retulisse. " Have 
paid the debt of their birth," i. e., the debt they owed to their country and 
parents for having been born. — Squalor. " Their squalid guise." 

Fortissimus quisque, &c. It was very common in the middle ages for 
those who were under a vow of penance to wear an iron ring till they had 
fulfilled their vow. — Ignominiosum id genti. The iron ring seems to have 
been a badge of slavery. — Placet. " Possesses lasting charms." They re- 
tain this appearance even after they have slain an enemy, as though they 
were bound by a vow from which they could only be released by death. — 
Jamque canent insignes. " And at last they grow hoary under the mark." — 
Visu torva. " Stern of visage." We have adopted torva here with the Bi 
pont editor, Oberlin, Bekker, and others. The ordinary reading is nova, 
" strange," which does not well accord with what is stated in the next sen 
tence. — Mansuescunt. " Do they become softened down." Literally, " do 
they become tame." Said properly of wild animals. — Aliqua cura. "Any 
domestic care," especially of procuring food.— .Donee exsanguis senectus, &c. 
" Until exhausted old age renders them unequal to so rigorous a career of 
military virtue." 

Chap. XXXII. — Certumjam alveo. " Now settled in its channel." More 
literally, "now certain (i. e., to be relied upon) in what relates to the bed 
of the river." The reference is to the quarter where the stream is now con 
fined within fixed limits, and does not form so many branches and lakes as 
in the country of the Batavi. — Usipii ac Tencteri. These two tribes gen 
erally go together in geography and history. They frequently changed theii 
settlements. Consult Geographical Index. — Super solitum bellorum decus 
" In addition to the warlike reputation usual (with the German race)." 
Supply ceteris Germanis after solitum. — Equestris disciplines, &c. Compare 
the account given by Caesar of the superiority of the German cavalry (B. G., 
iv., 2, 11, 12, 16). 

JEmulatio. " The point of emulation." — Familiam. " The household." 
By familia is here meant the dwelling and all things connected with it, fur 
niture, slaves, &c. — Excipit. " Inherits." Equivalent to hcereditate accipit, 
" receives by inheritance," i. e., the horses, equos being understood. — Prout 
ferox bello, &c. " According as he is fierce in wrj, and superior (in thin 
respect to the rest)." There is no tautology here, as son: e suppose. Com 
pare the explanation of Walther : " Excipit equos ferox bello inter nonferoces . 
inter feroces excipit ferocior sive melior" 



192 NOTES ON THE [cH. XXXIII., XXXIV. 

Chap. XXXIII. — Oaurrebant. " Met the view." Supply oculis. — Pen 
itus excisis. Tacitus appears to be mistaken in his assertion that the Bruc 
teri were entirely extirpated, for we find the Roman commander, Spurinna, 
engaged with them in the reign of Trajan; and in later times they appeal 
as a powerful people am<ing the Franks. — Nam ne spectaculo quidem, &c. 
" For they did not begrudge us even in the matter of allowing us to be spec- 
tators of a battle." Observe that spectaculo is here in the ablative, and that 
invidere governs the dative of the person (nobis) understood. This is the 
Latinity of the silver age. Cicero would have said ne spectaculum quidem 
prozlii nobis inviderunt, " they did not begrudge us even the spectacle of a 
battle." — Oblectationi oculisque. " For our entertainment and the mere 
pleasure of the spectacle." There is no hendiadys here, but a much stronger 
mode of expression. The conflict alluded to in the text is supposed to have 
taken place near the Canal of Drusus (Fossa Drusiana). from which quarter 
the Roman garrison could be spectators of it, and the time to have been the 
first year of the reign of Trajan. 

Duretque. "And continue strongly seated." — Odium sui. " A feeling 
of animosity towards each other." — Urgentibus imperii fatis. "When the 
fate of the empire is (thus) urgent," i. e., in the present critical condition 
of the empire. As this treatise was written in the reign of Trajan, when 
the affairs of the Romans appeared unusually prosperous, some critics have 
imagined that Tacitus wrote vigentibus, " flourishing," instead of urgentibus. 
But it is sufficiently evident, from other passages, that the causes which 
were operating gradually, but surely, to the destruction of the empire, did 
not escape the penetration of Tacitus, even when disguised by the most 
flattering appearances. The common reading, therefore, must stand. 

Chap. XXXIV. — A tergo cludunt. " Shut in from behind," i. e., from the 
east. — Aliceque gentes. Such as the Ansibarii, Tubantes, Turonii, &c. — A 
fronte, &e. "In front the Frisii succeed," i. e. 9 toward the west, or near 
the River Rhine. — Majoribus minoribusque } &c. " They have the appella 
tion of Greater and Less Frisii, according to the measure of their strength." 
The name stands here in the dative by attraction to Mis understood. (Mad- 
vig, b 246; Obs. 2.) — Rheno praetexuntur. "Are bordered in front by the 
Rhine," i. e., the settlements of both stretch along the Rhine. — Immensos 
lacus. Anciently this country was covered by large lakes, which were made 
still larger by frequent inundations of the sea. Since the inundation, how 
ever, of 1569, which submerged almost all Friesland, the Zuyder Zee lias 
taken the place of most of them. — Ilia tcntavimus. "We have explored in 
in that quarter." Supply regione. Drusus, Tiberius, and Germanicus ex- 
plored this sea. Drusus is said to have penetrated into the Sinus Dollarius, 
at the mouth of the Amisia or Ems. Tiberius navigated the Albis or Elbe. 
The shipwreck of the fleet of Germanicus proved likewise a source of dis- 
covery, and, according to Mannert (Geog., iii., p. 91), pointed out to nav- 
igators the way to the Baltic. 

Her cutis columnas. Besides the well-known Pillars of Hercul«i »s tha 



CHAP. XXXV.] GERMANrA. 193 

Straits of Gibraltar, the ancient writers speak o similar ones in the North , 
a. tradition which arose, in all probability, from the existence of similar nat- 
ural features ; n that quarter. Where, however, the northern promontories 
were that received this name in the text has never been satisfactorily as- 
certained. It is generally supposed that the legend points to the Sou?i.d, be- 
tween Denmark and Sweden. — Adiit. "Really visited that quarter." — 
Claritatem. "Renown." — Druso Germanico. Mentioned in a preceding 
note by the name of Drusus merely, which is his more usual appellation. 
He was the brother of Tiberius and step-son of Augustus. The younger 
Drusus was the son of Tiberius. 

Mox nemo tentavit. " Soon after, no one (any longer) made the attemDt." 
The meaning is, that although the sea was navigated by some one after 
Drusus, yet that the expeditions of the Romans in this quarter were soon 
abandoned. — De actis deorum credere, &c. " To entertain a belief concern- 
ing the actions of the gods, than to seek to become actually acquainted with 
them," i. e., to believe in the present instance that Hercules actually visited 
the North, and that pillars erected by him do really exist in that quarter, 
rather than, to seek to ascertain their real position. 

Chap. XXXV. — Novimus. " We have examined." — Ingentiflexu. This 
bend is formed by the Cimbric Chersonese, or modern Jutland, which Tac- 
itus conceived to be rather curved and round than angular and pointed. — 
Primo statim. " In the very outset," i. e., immediately after the bend be 
gins. — Caucorum gens. Their name is still preserved in that of their harbor, 
Cuxhaven. — Lateribus obtenditur. " Is stretched along the flanks," i. e., the 
eastern flanks. — Sinuetrur. They bend round first in a southeastern and 
then in a southerly direction, and meet the Catti near the River Werra. — 
Inter Germanos. For the partitive genitive Germanorum (Madvig, $ 284, 
Obs. 1). — Malit. The subjunctive, because the relative which precedes is 
equivalent to talis ut. {Madvig, § 364).— Tueri. " To uphold." 

Sine cupiditate, sine impntentia. " Without ambition, without ungoverned 
desires." Impotentia is here equivalent to impotentia sui, and denotes a 
want of command over one's passions. — Quod, ut superiores agant, &c. 
"That they do not seek to acquire their superiority by acts of injustice." 
Observe that ut superiores agant is an expression borrowed from the language 
of the stage, in which agere aliquem is the same as partes alicujus agere, " to 
represent or exhibit any character." 

Ac, si res poscat, exercitus. After exercitus supply quoque promtus est. 
Some editors remove the comma after poscat, making exercitus the accusa- 
tive plural depending on that verb. But this is contrary to the usage of 
Tacitus, who always employs the formula si res poscat absolutely, and 
without any case attached to show what is required or demanded. — Et qui- 
tscentibus, &c. "And they enjoy the same renown, even though remain- 
ing inactive," i. e., even in inaction. Theii warlike reputation is not at all 
injured by their pacific spirit. 

I 



1^4 NOTES ON THE [cH. XXXVI., XXXVII. 

Chap. XXXVI. — Nimiam ac marcentem, &c. "Long cherished, from 
their being unattacked by any foe, a too lasting and enfeebling state of re- 
pose." We have taken marcentem here, with Bredow and others, in a trans 
itive sense, " quae robur atque virtutem detrahit." The verb marceo is prop- 
erly intransitive. — Impotentes. Supply sui, and compare note on impotentia, 
chap. xxxv. It may be here rendered "the ambitious." — Falso quiescas. 
"You stand a chance of enjoying a false security." Observe the force of 
the subjunctive. — Ubi manu agitur, &c. " When matters are decided by the 
sword, moderation and mildness are terms belonging to the victor," i. e,, 
moderation and mildness are ascribed, not to the weak and inactive, but to 
those who possess the power of injuring their neighbors without abusing it. 

Boni cequique Cherusci. Some derive the name Cherusci from an old word 
(cherusk), meaning " just." — Nunc inertes ac stulti vocantur. The name here 
referred to is Thuringi (Thuringer), from thoring, " stupid." — In sapientiam 
cessit. "Has passed for wisdom." The meaning of the whole passage is 
this : The success of the Catti, which was due to their good fortune, has, 
since they gained the mastery, been placed to the account of their wisdom. 
— Tracti. The earlier editions, and some modern ones, have tacti, which 
would make the allusion a figurative one to a contagious disease. But 
tracti is a much stronger form of expression. — Cum fuissent. " Although 
they had been." Cum has the subjunctive here, because expressing a kind 
of comparison between the leading proposition and the subordinate one, 
especially a contrast (Madvig, § 358 ; Obs. 3). 

Chap. XXXVII. — Eundem Germaniae sinum. " This same bend of Ger 
many," i. <?., this same quarter of Germany, which bends, as just stated, 
to the north. The reference is to the ingens fleariis mentioned at the be- 
ginning of chapter xxxv. — Cimbri. The Cimbri never dwelt in the quarter 
here assigned to them by Tacitus, namely, on the Cimbric Chersonese, or 
modern Jutland. Their real country lay, probably, on the northeastern side 
of Germany. (Consult Geographical Index.) — Parva nunc civitas. No state 
of the Cimbri ever existed here, as we have just remarked. Tacitus was 
misled by some vague report. — -Gloria. The ablative. — Utraque ripa, &c 
" Encampments, namely, and lines on either bank." Another vague state- 
ment, and which has given rise to a great diversity of opinions. Brotiei 
and others refer utraque ripa to both shores of the Cimbric Chersonese. 
Cluver and Dithmar, on the other hand, suppose that these encampments are 
to be sought for either in Italy, upon the River Athesis (Adige), or in Gallia 
Narbonensis, near Aquse Sextiae (Aix), where Florus (iii., 3) mentions that 
the Teutones, defeated by Marius, took post in a valley with a stream run- 
ning through it. According, however, to the established usus loquendi, the 
reference must be either to the Rhine or the Danube, most probably the 
former. — Molem manusque gentis. " The massy numbers and the military 
strength of the nation." — Exitus. "Migration." Compare Cic, Parad., 
iv., 1 ; Ccbs., B. Civ., iii., 69.— Fidem. " The credibility." 

Seacentesimum et quadragesimum, &c This date corresponds to B C 



CHAP. XXXVII.] GERMANIA. 195 

114; but the more correct date is 641 A.U.C., or B.C. 113, in which latter 
year, not in B.C. 114, Metellus and Carbo were consuls. — Audita sunt arma. 
In Noricum, and on the banks of the Danube. — Ad alterum imperatoris, &c. 
" To the second consulship of the Emperor Trajan." Trajan was five times 
consul. The second time was in A.D. 98, in which same year Nerva died, 
end Trajan ascended the throne. The present tense (vincitur) employed by 
Tacitus a little farther on, shows that the latter was engaged in writing 
ihis work at the time he speaks of, namely, A.D. 98. — Colliguntur. "Are 
comprised." — Tamdiu Germania vincitur. " So long is Germany getting 
conquered." It never was conquered by the Roman arms. 

Medio tarn longi cevi spatio. " During the interval of so long a period " 
i, 6., during so long an intervening period, namely, of nearly two hundred 
and ten years. — Non Samnis. "Not the Samnite," i. e., the Samnite na- 
tion. The allusion is to the fierce and obstinate struggle between the Ro 
mans and Samnites, and especially to the former being compelled to pass 
under the yoke at the Caudine Forks (Liv., ix., 2). — Posni. Alluding to 
the disastrous defeats inflicted by Hannibal. — Hispanics. " The Spains," 
i. e., the two divisions of Spain, namely, Tarraconensis and Bcetica, sep- 
arated by the Iberus, now Ebro. Wars were carried on by the Romans in 
these two provinces against the Carthaginians, Viriathus, the Numantines, 
Sertorius, and others. — Gallia. " The Gauls." Transalpine and Cisalpine 
Gaul. 

Parthi. Alluding particularly to the overthrow of Crassus, and the check 
received by Marc Antony. — Sapius admonuere. "Have more frequently 
i eminded us (of our weakness)," i. e., that we are not invincible. We have 
here an ellipsis more in thought than in word. Compare the explanation 
of Longolius : "admonuere, scil. nos cladibus, nos vinci posse." — Quippe 
regno Arsacis, &c. " No doubt because the impatience of control which 
characterizes the Germans is more vigorous than the despotism of Arsaces,' 
i. e., proves a greater stimulus to exertion. Observe that regno Arsacis is the 
same as regno Parthico, the monarchs of Parthia being in the time of Tac 
itus of the dynasty of the Arsacidae, so called from Arsaces, the founder ol 
the empire. 

Quid enim aliud, &c. " For what else has the East, &c, to boast of 
against us." — Cadem Crassi. Crassus was defeated and slain by the Par 
thians, B.C. 53. — Amisso et ipso Pacoro. This was in B.C. 38. After the 
defeat of P. Decidius Saxa, lieutenant of Syria, by the Parthians, and the 
seizure of Syria by Pacorus, son of King Orodes, P. Ventidius Bassus, 
having been sent thither by Marc Antony, slew Pacorus, and completely re- 
stored the Roman affairs. — Infra Ventidium dejectus. "Humbled beneath 
a Ventidius." Ventidius, already mentioned in the preceding note, though 
a man of great military ability, was of very humble origin, and when he first 
grew up to man's estate, got a poor living by undertaking to furnish mules 
and vehicles for those magistrates who went from Rome to administer a 
province. Hence the peculiar force of infra Ventidium, as implying that 
the once haughty empire of the Parthians had been brought so low, as to be 



196 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XXXVII. 

compelled to yield to the arms of a man of so lowly an origin. Compare 
Ritter : " unter einem Ventidiiis." 

Carbone. Cn. Papirius Carbo was defeated by the Cimbri at Noreia, B.C. 
113. (Liv., Epit., 63.) — Cassio. L. Cassius Longinus was sent under the 
yoke, and slain by the Tigurini, who had joined themselves to the Cimbri, 
B.C. 107. (Cms., B. G., i., 7, 12.)— Scauro Aurelio. M. Aurelius Scaurus, 
the same year, was defeated and taken prisoner by the Cimbri, and slain 
by Boiorix. (Liv., Ep., 67.) — Servilio Coepione, &e. Q. Servilius Caepio 
and Cn. Manlius (B.C. 105), through their rashness and dissensions, suffered 
a severe defeat from the Cimbri, near Tolosa (Toulouse) (Liv., Ep., 67). — 
Cnceo quoque Manlio. All the old MSS. and editions have M. quoque Man- 
lio. Cn. and M. are frequently confounded in the MSS. In the present 
instance, however, the true reading is Cnmo, since it had been decreed after 
the death of M. Manlius Capitolinus. who w T as accused by the patrician 
party of aiming at royal power, that no one of this family should bear the 
name of Marcus. (Liv., vi., 20 ; Cic, Phil., i., 13.) 

Varum. The reference is to P. Quintilius Varus, who was defeated by 
the Germans under Arminius, in the Saltus Teutohurgiensis, in the upper 
valley of the Lippe. His defeat was followed by the loss of all the Roman 
possessions between the Weser and the Rhine, and this latter river again 
became the boundary of the Roman dominions. — Ccssari. Augustus Caesar. 
— Caius Marius. The allusion is to the famous defeat of the Cimbri, in 
the Raudii Campi, near Vercellae, by Marius and Catulus, B.C. 101. Marius 
had previously defeated the Teutones and Amlirones at Aquas Sextias (Auc) f 
in Gaul. — Divus Julius in Gallia. For the campaigns of Julius Caesar 
against the Germans, consult Cms., B. G., i., 32, seqq. ; ii., 1, seqq. ; iv., 1, 
seqq. ; vi., 9, seqq. 

Drusus ac Nero et Germanicus. By Drusus is here meant Drusus Ger 
manicus, the brother of Tiberius, and by Nero, Tiberius himself, whose 
full name was Claudius Tiberius Nero Drusus. Germanicus was the son 
of Drusus, and nephew of Tiberius. Observe the change of the conjunction 
ac in this sentence, because Drusus and Nero were more on an equality 
with one another as brothers, than with Germanicus. For an account of 
the expeditions of Drusus, &c, consult Geographical Index, s.v. Germani. 
— Mox. A.D. 39. — Caii Ccesaris. Caligula. Compare Suet., Calig., 45, 
seqq. ; Dio Cass., lix., 25. 

Inde otium. During the reigns of Claudius and Nero. — Civilium armorum. 
The civil wars carried on by Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. — Ex- 
pugnatis legionum hibernis. This was done in A.D. 69, by the Batavi under 
Civilis. (Hist., iv., 12, seqq.; v., 20.) — Etiam Gallias adfectavere. "They 
even aimed at the possession of the Gauls." — Proximis his temporibus. Not 
only in the reign of Domitian, but also in the reigns of Nerva, Trajan, and 
Hadrian. — Triumphati. The cognomen of Germanicus and the honor of a 
triumph were frequently, out of rlatte;y, conferred on the emperors, or their 
ions and favorites. 



en. xxxviii., xxxix. J germania. 197 

Chap. XXXVIII. — Suevis. According to Tacitus, the Suevi possessed 
all the land from the banks of the Danube northward to the Baltic Sea, be- 
tween the Elbe and the Vistula. — Propriis adhuc nationibus, &c. "Dis- 
tinguished from one another, up to the present time, by particular nations 
and names." The different nations into which the Suevi were divided are 
enumerated from chapter xxxix. to xlv., both inclusive. — In commune. " In 
common." An expression belonging to the silver age of Latinity. — Insigne 
gentis, &c. " It is a badge of the race to turn back the hair over the head, 
and to fasten it up in a knot," i. c, not to leave the hair hanging down 
straight, but to turn or comb it back, &c. The knot into which the hair was 
formed was not on the top, but at the back part of the head. — Substringere. 
Properly, "to bind below or under," and hence, "to bind from below," or, 
in other words, " to bind or tie up." It is a poetic form, and belongs to the 
silver age of Latinity. — A ceteris Germanis. Other ancient writers, how- 
ever, make this mode of wearing the hair a badge of the Germans in general. 
Compare Seneca, De Ira, iii., 26, and Juvenal, Sat., xiii., 164. — Separantur. 
" Are distinguished." — A servis. The slaves wore their hair cut close and 
short, as was the custom afterward with this class of persons among the 
Franks. Long hair was the badge of a freeman. Compare Greg. Turon., 
iii., 8; Leg. Burgund., vi., 4; Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalt., p. 284. 

Usque ad canitiem, &c. " They put back their bristly locks even up to 
the time of hoary hairs, and frequently bind them in a knot on the verj 
crown.'' Literally, " they follow back," as referring to a constant and 
pains-taking habit of putting back the hairs. By solo vertice is meant just 
on the crown, and nowhere else. Observe, moreover, that the old men 
wear the knot on the crown, the others at the back of the head. — Ea. For 
talis. — Innoxia. " A harmless one," i. e., not springing from the same cor 
rupt motives as among the Romans. A less forcible reading is innoxice. — 
In altitudinem quamdam, &c. " Decked in this way, when about to proceed 
to wars, to make themselves appear taller, and thus strike terror," &c. 

Chap. XXXIX. — Vetustissimos. " The oldest." Earlier writers more 
frequently employ vetustus in an unfavorable sense, as in Cic, Brut., 21, 
" sed multo tamen vetustior et horridior ille." Tacitus, however, uses it in 
almost the same signification as vetus. (Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 488.) — 
Fides antiquitatis, &c. " The belief in their antiquity is strengthened by 
a religious observance." The observance in question was connected with 
a human sacrifice, a rite belonging properly to the earliest times. — In 
silvam. This wood is supposed to be the S^nnewald and Finsterwald, be- 
tween the Elster and the Spree. — Auguriis patrum, &c. These words, down 
to sacram inclusive, form an hexameter line. — Prisca formidine. " By the 
awe-inspiring associations of former times." — Primordia. The human sac 
rifice formed the beginning of the rite ; what the remainder of the ceremony 
was our author does not inform us. 

Reverentia. " Mark of reverential homage." — Tit minor. * ' A s an inferior 
being.' — Prce seferens. " Displaying in his own person,'' i. c, in the chain 



198 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XL. 

that fetters him. — Evolvuntur. " They roll themselves out." Middle roice. 
— Eo respicit. " Has reference to this," i. e., has this import. — Inde. " From 
this spot," i. e., from the sacred grove. They believed in the indigenous 
origin of their race. — Adjicit auctoritatem. Supply superstitioni Mi. — Cen- 
tum pagis habitant. Caesar says the same of the Suevi (B. G., L, 37 ; iv., 1). 
— Magno corpore. Supply civitatis. 

Chap. XL. — Paucitas nobilitat. Because, though few in number, they 
maintained their ground against the tribes by whom they were surrounded 
(the Cherusci, Marcomanni, Semnones, Hermunduri, Cauci, and Marsi). — 
Reudigni, &c. For an account of all the tribes mentioned here, consult Ge- 
ographical Index. — Hertham. The MSS. and earlier editions have Nerihum s 
which Rhenanus (in 1519) corrected into Herthum, and Oberlin finally into 
Hertham. The word is manifestly the same as the German Erde, and the 
English Earth, and its more Germanic form was probably JErth-a, with the 
Latin declension-suffix. Compare Latham, ad loc. — Eamque intervenire, 
&c. " And they think that she takes part in the affairs of men, that she 
visits the different nations." Literally, " that she bears herself among the 
nations." Observe that populis is here the ablative, and not the dative, as 
some suppose. 

Insula. There are various opinions respecting the situation of this island 
It is identified by different writers with Rugen, Mona, Heligoland, &c, but 
Rugen probably is the island meant. The wood spoken of seems to be that 
of Stubnitz, and the lake the Burgsee. In this forest is a lofty rock, to this 
day called Hertha's rock, with a lake at the bottom of it, in shape nearly 
circular, of immense depth, and surrounded by very thick woods. Among 
the northern nations islands were almost invariably selected for the per- 
formance of their religious rites, as was the case with Anglesea, the Isle of 
Man, Iona, &c. — Castum. " Unpolluted." 

Is adesse penetrali, &c. " He becomes conscious of the entrance of the 
goddess into her secret abiding-place," i. e., into the covered vehicle. — 
Bubus feminis. When nouns denoting animals are of the common gender, 
and the sex of the particular animal is to be stated, the term mas oxfemina 
is added {Zumpt, 42). — Lceti tunc dies, &c. The full form of expression 
would be, lceti tunc dies aguntur, festa tunc ilia loca sunt, &c. — Qucecunque 
adventu, &c. " Whatsoever ones she deems worthy of visiting and being 
entertained in." — Non bella ineunt, &c. A festival called Alia manna frith 
(i. e., Allmami's Friede), in which they abstained from war, continued to be 
celebrated in Gothland even after the introduction of Christianity. — Pax et 
quies. The former of these terms refers to foreign wars, the latter to in- 
ternal dissensions. 

Templo. " To her sacred abode," i. e., the sacred grove or inclosure. 
Tewplum is here employed in its primitive meaning, not as implying any 
building, but merely a space marked out, or set apart. Compare the Greek 
rtfiEVog, from the same root (re[i, cut) with the verb rejiivo). — ISumen ipsum. 
The goddess was feigned to have become polluted by moital converse, and 



CHAP. XLI., XLII.] GERMANIA. 199 

therefore required ablution. — Haurit. " Swallows up." The slaves were 
drowned in order that the imposture of the priests might not be divulged 
The ostensible reason, however, was, that those persons must needs perish; 
who had beheld the goddess herself in her real form. — Quid sit illud, &c. 
* As to what that can be, which those only see who are doomed to perish," 
•*. «., who, in consequence of seeing, must immediately thereafter perish. 

Nearly all the circumstances mentioned here concerning the worship of 
Hertha agree with those practiced at the worship of the Deity of the Earth 
(called Rhea, Ops, Demeter, Cybele, &c), in Thrace and Phrygia, by the 
Corybantes, Idaei Dactyli, and others. At Pessinus festive days were kept, 
in which the image of the goddess was drawn in a car by cows througn the 
towns of Phrygia. At every place through which she passed sacrifices were 
offered ; and in Italy, moreover, after the celebration of her festival, her car 
and statue were always purified in the waters of the River Almo, Similar 
customs are still observed by the Brahmins in India, at the festival of Ba« 
ghawadi. 

Chap. XLI. — Secretiora. "The more remote recesses."— Proprior. 
" Nearer (unto us is)." Supply nobis est. — Non in ripa. " Not on the bank 
merely." Supply solum after non. The southern bank of the Danube is 
meant. — Penitus. "Far in the interior."— Splendidissima Rcstics, &c. 
This is generally supposed to be Augusta Vindelicorum, now Augsburg. — 
Transeunt. Over the Danube, or Roman frontier. — Cum. " While." Fol- 
lowed by the subjunctive as implying a comparison. (Madvig, & 358, Obs. 
3.) — Non concupiscentibus. "Not coveting them," i. e., without exciting 
their cupidity. — Notum olim. Through the expeditions of Drusus, Domitius, 
and Tiberius. — Nunc tantum auditur. " Now it is only heard of," i. c, it is 
known merely by report, since the tide of Roman invasion has been rolled 
tack. 

Chap. XLII. — Gloria viresque. Supply sunt. — Parta. Supply erant.-~ 
Nee Narisci Quadive degenerant. " Nor do the Narisci or the Quadi fall 
ihort (of them in valor)," i. e. t nor are they inferior in valor to the Marco- 
manni. Supply ab Us virtute after degenerant. — Eaque velut Germanics, &c. 
" And this is, as it were, the front of Germany, so far forth as it is formed 
by the Danube," i. c, so far forth as the Danube forms this front, and sep- 
arates Germany in this quarter from the Roman possessions. With perag- 
itur (which here has the force of efficitur) supply frons from the previous 
clause. Passow understands iter, which appears much less appropriate. 
Some editors read pergitur, others porrigitur, but all the MSS. and early edi- 
tions have peragitur. 

Nobile Marobodui, &c. Of Maroboduus mention will be found in the 
Geographical Index, 5. v. Marcomanni. Tuder or Tudrus is not mentioned 
by any other writer but Tacitus, nor by the latter elsewhere than in the 
present passage. Neither are other kings of the Marcomanni and Quadi 
spoken of except \ty writers of a later age. — Externos. Supply reges. As. 



200 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XL1II. 

for instance, Catualda, Vannius, Vangio, &c. Catuaida was subsequently 
driven out by Vibilius, king of the Hermunduri (Ann., ii., 45, 62). The 
Quadi received Vannius from the Romans. — Sed vis etpotentia, &c. Partly 
on account of the support afforded them by the Romans against the different 
factions of their kingdoms, partly because some of them owed their royalty 
to the Romans. — Scepius pecunia. In point of fact, however, the Romans 
themselves were sometimes compelled to pay tribute to these princes, as to 
Decebalus, the king of the Daci, and his allies the Marcomanni and Quadi. 
Compare Dio Cass., lxvii., 7 ; lxviii., 9. 

Chap. XLIII. — Retro. " Farther back," i. e., farther from the Danube, 
and more in the interior. — Terga cludunt. "They shut in the rear."— 
Referunt. " Resemble." — Osos Pannonica lingua. Compare notes on 
chapter xxviii. — Sarmatae. By the Sarmatae here are probably meant the 
Iazyges Metanastae, who dwelt in the neighborhood of the Quadi, or else 
the Sidones. — Gothini, quo magis pudeat, &c. Because the iron mines in 
their country ought to furnish them with arms, with which to assert their 
freedom. The Greeks and Romans generally employed slaves to work in 
the mines. — Pauca campestrium. " A small extent (only) of level country." 
Observe the poetical form of expression. The more ordinary form would 
be pauca campestria loca. 

Dirimit enim scinditque, &c. " For a continuous ridge of mountains di 
vides and cleaves asunder Suevia." Tacitus does not give us the name of 
this chain of mountains, but from his description it appears to be identical 
with the Asciburgian range of Ptolemy, and the modern Riesengehirge. — 
Lygiorum nomen. " The nation of the Lygii." Poetical. Compare the 
well-known form, nomen Latinum. — Helveconas. Greek form of the accu- 
sative. Compare note on Oxionas, chap. xlvi. 

Antique religionis. "Connected with early religious rites." — Muhebri 
ornaiu. The priest was probably attired in a flowing robe, which, contrast- 
ing as it did with the closely-fitting attire of the Germans in general, was 
mistaken for a female dress. — Sed deos, inter pretatione Romana, &c. " But 
they say that the gods (worshipped there) are, according to Roman interpre- 
tation, Castor and Pollux," i. e., writers and travellers inform us that the 
gods worshipped in this sacred grove resemble in their attributes, and are the 
same with, the Roman deities Castor and Pollux. — Ea vis numini, &c. 
" Such are the attributes assigned to their godhead ; their name is Alci." 
Alcis is the dative plural. Compare note on Majoribus minoribusque Frisiis, 
&c, chap.xxxiv. The full form would be est illis nomen Alcis. This dat- 
ive is to be deduced from a nominative plural Alci, and not from such a 
form as Alces, which would make Alcibus. Anton derives the name from 
the Sclavonic holcz, " a youth," in the plural holczy, with which we may 
compare the well-known epithet of AtoGKOpoi, " sons of Jove," applied to 
Castor and Pollux. (Anton, Gesch. der Deutschen, i., p. 381.) 

Utfratres tamen, &c. Like the Roman Castor and Pollux. — Venerantur. 
Is transitive: the passi T e was not i\ use except in the participle. — Ennma> 



CfHAP. XLIV.] GERMANIA. 201 

ratos paulo ante popuhs. The Marsigni, Gothini, and Osi. — Insitce feritati, 
&c. " Increase the effect of their innate ferocity, by calling art and a par- 
ticular time to their aid." Literally, "pander to their innate ferocity by 
means of art and time." Arte refers to their black shields and stained 
bodies ; tempore to the murky nights chosen for their encounters. — Ipsa for- 
midine, &c. " By the very alarm (which their aspect occasions), and by 
the shade-like appearance of their funereal host." The funereal gloom of 
their sable bands makes them resemble so many spectres. Ritter very 
tamely refers umbra to the shadows cast by their bodies, which would ap- 
pear greater amid the gloom. — Novum ac velut infernum adspectum. " Theii 
strange, and, as it were, unearthly look." 

Regnantur. Consult notes on chap. xxv. — Paulo jam adductius. "With 
an already somewhat tighter rein." Jam implies that as we go farther and 
farther northward, the people degenerate more and more from the spirit of 
liberty which characterized the more southern tribes, till at last We come 
to a people with an absolute ruler. — Supra. "To a degree incompatible 
with." — Protinus deinde ab oceano. "Immediately thereafter, along the 
ocean." Literally, " from the ocean," i. e., extending from the ocean in* 
ward. Their territory, in other words, reached from that of the Gotones to 
the ocean. By " the ocean" the Baltic Sea is here meant. As regards the 
force of the preposition ab in this passage, compare the remarks of Hand, 
ad Tursell, vol. i., p. 48. 

Chap. XLIV. — Suionum. The Suiones inhabited the south of Sweden, 
which was supposed by the ancients to be an island. — Ipso in oceano. Al 
luding to their supposed insular situation. By the ocean here is meant the 
Baltic Sea. — Eo differt. "Differs in this respect from that of ours." — 
Quod utrinque prora, &c. Resembling the canoes still used by the Swedes 
and by our own aborigines. — Paratam semper appulsui, &c. " Affords a 
front always ready for driving up on the beach," i. c, for coming to land.-- 
Nee ministrantur. " They are neither worked." — In ordinem. " So as to 
form a row." — Solutum, ut in quibusdam, &c. " Their mode of rowing is 
without any regularity, as is practiced on some rivers (with us), and changes, 
as occasion requires, on this side or on that." The movement here de 
scribed is like the paddling of a canoe. Solutum appears to refer to the 
oars being without straps, so that they may easily be shifted from side to 
side. Tacitus compares this to the mode pursued on some Italian rivers, 
where the high banks would require a similar shifting of the oars in order 
that the boat might be brought close to them. — In quibusdam fiuminum. 
Pronouns, adjectives, and participles in the plural, joined with a genitive, 
are of frequent occurrence in Tacitus. 

Est apud illos et opibus honos. The wealth here referred to was acquired 
by traffic. This respect paid to wealth was unknown to the rest of the Ger 
mans. — Nullis jam exceptionibus, &c. " With no exceptions now, with no 
precarious conditions of allegiance." As regards the force of jam here, com 
oare the note on paullo jam adductius, chap, xliii. The expression non pre- 

12 



202 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XLV. 

carlo jwe parendi may be rendered more freely, "with an absolute claim 
upon their obedience." Precarium jus is a right granted to a person's en- 
treaties. — Nee arma in promiscuo. " Nor are arms allowed to be kept pro- 
miscuously." Supply concessa sunt. — Et quidem servo. "And he, too, a 
slave." — Oceanus. In allusion to their supposed insular situation. — Quia 
.... lasciviunt. This is the reason why arms are not allowed to the public 
without distinction. — Regia utilitas est. " It is the policy of kings." We 
kave here the reason why the charge of arms is intrusted to a slave. 

Chap. XLV. — Suionas. Greek form of the accusative. Compare Hel- 
veconas, chap, xliii., and note on Oxionas, chap, xlvi. — Aliud mare. The 
Northern or Frozen Ocean. — Pigrum ac prope immotum. " Sluggish and 
ajmost without any motion," i. c, on account of the ice. Compare Agric, 
*Q. — Hinc. " From the following circumstance." Referring to what im- 
mediately follows, namely, quod extremus, &c. — In ortus edurat adeo clarus. 
V Continues so vivid till its (daily) risings." In the age of Pliny and Tac 
tus the globular form of the earth was well known. Tacitus considered 
the earth, though not completely spherical, as a globe at rest in the centre 
of the universe, with the land completely surrounded by water. The part 
of the earth from Britain to the pole he conceived to be flatter than that 
om Italy to Britain, since there was no chain of mountains at all to be com- 
nared with the Alps, and hence he talks of the " extrema et plana terrarum" 
Agric, 12). And as night is nothing else than the shadow of the earth 
Plin., H. N. f ii., 10) rising in the form of a cone, since the body illumined 
is less than the body that illumines it, the notion entertained by Tacitus is, 
tnat at the time of the solstice, when the sun approaches nearer the pole 
Plin., H. N. t ii-, 75), and accordingly does not sink far below the horizon, 
the shadow of the flatter parts of the earth toward the pole can not shroud 
the whole heavens in darkness (" extrema et plana terrarum non erigunt tene- 
bras") ; but the surface of the earth only is darkened, while the sky and stars 
appear above the shadow, and are illumined by the rays of the sun (" infra 
caelum et sidera nox cadit." Agric. , 12). 

Sonum insuper audiri, &c. " Popular belief adds, that a sound is more- 
over heard," &c. The allusion is evidently to the Aurora Borealis : and 
so, also, the formas deorum et radios capitis refer to the fanciful shapes as- 
sumed by the electrical phasnomena. — Illuc usque, &c. "Thus far only, 
and report says true, does nature extend." With/ama supply est. Observe 
that tantum is joined in construction with illuc usque. — Ergo jam. " To re- 
turn, therefore, now." — Suevici maris. The Baltic. — Alluuntur. "Are 
washed by its waves." 

Matrem deum. The same with the Hertha of the Suevi already mentioned. 
—Formas aprorum gestant. They wore these as amulets. The boar, as the 
symbol of fecundity, was sacred to Hertha. Many remnants of this super- 
stition still remain in Sweden. At the time of the festival anciently cel- 
ebrated in honor of Frea, the rustics make bread into the form of a hog, 
which is applied to various superstitious uses. — Pro. "Supplying the 



CHAP. XLVI.] GERMANIA. 203 

place of." — Frumenta cetera sque fructus, &c. "They bestow labor on the 
culture of corn and the other productions of the earth, with more patient 
industry than might have been expected from the usual indolence of the 
Germans." Compare chapters xiv., xv. 

Succinum. u Amber." So called because it was believed to be the sap 
(succus) of a tree. — Quod ijpsi glesum vocant. " Which they themselves call 
glese" i. e., glass, from its brightness (gleissen, "to shine," "to glisten"). 
The term glesum, it will be perceived, is nothing more than the old German 
word glas or glaes Latinized, and converted into a neuter noun. — Inter vada 
atque in ipso littore. On the shores of Pomerania, Curonia, and Prussia ; 
now, however, principally on the coast of Samland. It first became known 
in the south of Europe through the Phoenicians. 

Nsc, quce natura, &c. " Nor has it been inquired into or found out by 
them, as being barbarians, what may be its nature, or what principle of 
production may give it birth," i. e., as is natural among barbarians. Bar- 
baris is the dative, agreeing with iis understood after compertum. — Ejecta- 
menta. " Things thrown up by." The term ejectamentum is of rare occur- 
rence. We meet with it also in Apuleius (Apol., 297). Tacitus appears 
partial to words of this termination : thus we have placamenta (Hist., i., 
13) ; meditamenta (Hist., iv., 26) ; turbamenta (Hist., i., 23) ; tentamenta 
(Hist., ii., 38), &c. — Ipsis in nullo usu. This remark must be received 
with some abatement, since it would appear that amber was certainly held 
in some estimation by the ancient Germans. Small balls of this substance, 
strung on horse-hair, and large unwrought pieces, have been found in tombs. 
(Klemm, Germ. Alterthumsk., p. 22.) 

Perfertur. By traders, through Pannonia to the Adriatic, and thence to 
Rome. — Succum arborum, &c. The same notion is advanced by Pliny 
(H. 2\~., xxxvii., 2, 3). Compare also the remarks of Berendt, M Der Bern- 
stein,'' 1 &c. Berol., 1845, p. 8, as quoted by Ritter. Modern naturalists 
agree in making amber a fossil resin. — Interlucent. • Appear through it." 
— Implicata humor e. " Entangled in it while in a liquid state." — Durescente 
materia. "As the substance hardens." — Fecundiora igitur nemora, &c. 
"For my own part, therefore, I believe, that, as in the remote regions of the 
East, where incense and balsam are exuded, so there are in the islands and 
lands of the west woods and groves of more than ordinary luxuriance, the 
juices of which, forced out and rendered liquid by the rays f the sun 
close to them, flow," &c. Observe that qua refers grammatically to nemora 
lucosque, but is equivalent in fact to quorum succus. Tb e reference in tura 
is to Arabia; in balsama, to Judaea and Arabia. — TJ\ in pic em resinamvc len- 
tescit. "It resolves itself into a glutinous mass, as if into pitch or resin,* 
i. e., resembling pitch or resin. 

Continuantur. "Are contiguous to," i. e., follow immediately after. 
Compare Freund, s. v. — In tantum. "To such an extent." — A servitute 
degenerant. In being slaves to a woman.— Finis. That is to the North. 

Chap, XLYI.—Sede ac domiciliis. "In fixedness of settlement and in 



204 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. [CHAP. XLVI. 

the nature of their dwellings." The settlements and habitations of the Peu- 
cini were fixed and stationary, whereas the Sarmatse wandered about in 
their wagons. — Sordes omnium ac torpor. " Filth and laziness are charac- 
teristics of all." Some editors place a colon after procerum, and no stop 
after torpor, which makes a very awkward reading. — Procerum connvbii* 
mixtis, &c. " Through the intermarriages of thsir chiefs with the Sarma 
tians, they are gradually assuming the disgusting character of that people.' 
—~Ex moribus. Supply Sarmatarum. — Hi tamen, &c. Ptolemy and others, 
more correctly, make them a branch of the Sarmatians. — Domos figunt, 
" They have fixed habitations," i. e., do not wander about in wagons like the 
Sarmatse. Another, but less correct reading, is jingunt. 

Fennis. The Fenni are the inhabitants of modern Finland. — Cubile 
humus. " Their couch is the ground." Observe the change of construction. 
We would naturally have expected cubili humus, but the nominative is sub- 
stituted as more emphatic. — Ossibus asperant. " They roughly head with 
bones." The Siberians, at the present day, employ for a like purpose the 
bones of fish. The verb aspero is poetic. It never appears in Cicero. — 
Comitantur. " They accompany their husbands." Supply viros. 

Ingemere agris, illaborare domibus. " To groan over fields, to labor upor 
dwellings," i. e., to groan over the plough, to labor in the erection of dwell 
ings. The verb illaborare is here formed after the model of ingemere. It 
nowhere else appears in this meaning, since illaboratus, which does oc- 
cur, has the signification of "not labored," "done without labor."- — Suas 
alienasque, &c. " To keep their own fortunes and those of others in a state 
of constant disquiet, through mingled hope and fear," i. c, to be harassed 
by the alternate hopes and fears of enriching or ruining themselves and 
others in trade and traffic. 

Securi. This does not mean here " safe," but " without care and anxiety." 
— Ut Mis ne voto, &c. " That they would not need even a wish." Rhena- 
nus conjectured opus sit for opus esset, and his emendation was adopted by 
all subsequent editors until the time of Ernesti, w T ho restored esset, without, 
however, assigning a very satisfactory reason. The true reason is this : 
Tacitus does not mean to say that they have no need even of a wish, as 
if stating a fact ; but he gives merely the result of his own reflections, 
namely, that they would not need even a wish, if there were any thing to 
be actually wished for. — Hellusios et Oxionas. Probably the inhabitants of 
Lapland. The fable here stated may possibly have arisen from their wear- 
ing the skins of wild animals. — Oxionas. Tacitus occasionally uses this 
Greek ending, as in Helveconas, chap, xliii. ; Suicnas, chap. xlv. So also 
Vangionas ac Nemetas, Ann., xii., 27. Consult Madvig, $ 45, 6. The usage 
is properly a poetical one. — In medium relinquam. " 1 will leave, as a sub 
ject of doubt, undecided," i. e., I will make a subject of doubt and leave un 
decided. Equivalent to in dubium vocatum relinquam in medio. (Botticher, 
Lex. Tac, p. 25. Compare remarks on th - tyle of Tacitus, p. xliii. of thit 
volume.) 



I OTES 



THE A 6 R I C L A. 



NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. 



The composition of this work may be assigned, from internal and ex 
ternal evidence, to the year of Rome 850-1 (A.D. 97-98), four years after 
Agricola's death. The first three chapters comprise the preface, the sub- 
stance of which is as follows : In times of yore, when there was no reason, 
as now, to dread men's ignorance of virtue, and their envy of her votaries, 
it was usual to hand down to posterity the exploits and characters of famous 
men ; and a man was not found fault with even if he narrated his own life. 
But in times like these, when we have only lately seen that to praise illus 
trious men was a capital crime, I must plead for favor and indulgence ; 
which I should not have done, had not my path lain through times inimical 
to virtue, in which even those remain unpunished through whose charges 
Agricola fell, and through whose means many have been calumniated. At 
length, however, spirit and liberty are returning, though the desire of writing 
springs up but gradually and slowly, since talents and zeal may be more 
quickly smothered and suppressed than roused again to vigor and activity; 
and since sloth, at first the object of our hatred, ends with ingratiating itself 
into our favor. Hence I am led to hope that I shall meet with excuse for 
having formed the design of writing this memoir. 

Chap. I. — Antiquitus usitatum. "A custom prevalent in early days." 
Usitatum is here the accusative singular neuter of the participle, agreeing 
with the preceding clause. — Quamquam incuriosa suorum. " Though taking 
little interest in its own (eminent individuals)." — Omisit. In the sense of 
omittere solet. Compare Wex, Proleg., p. 150. — Virtus. " Merit." — Ignty 
rantiam recti et invidiam. " An insensibility to, and an envying of virtue." 
Observe that rectum here corresponds to opdov, dpOorqc, in the Platonic 
sense. 

Pronum magisque in aperto erat. "Was easy, and more unobstructed 
(than in our own times)." Pronum properly means "bending forward," 
" inclined," and hence " easy." It is by no means, however, merely sy- 
nonymous with in aperto j as some suppose. Things are said to be in aperto 
in two ways ; first, as regards a becoming acquainted with them, and then 
they are clear and free from all obscurity ; and, secondly, as regards a per 
forming of them, and then they are free from obstruction and impediment. 
It is in the latter sense that in aperto is here used. — Virtutis. " Of departed 
*oith." — Sin£ gratia aut ambitions. ''Without predilection or a desire to 



208 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. It 

gain notoriety." The term ambitio is not used here in the ok Roman sense 
of an honorable suing for preferment or public favor, but in the meaning 
which it acquired during the silver age. Hence Spalding {ad QuinctiL, i., 
2, 22), correctly explains it in the present passage by "vance gloria affecta 
tio." — Pretio. " By the recompense (merely)." 

Plerique. " Many." Tacitus frequently makes plerique, as in the present 
instance, equivalent merely to nolTioi, and not to have its full foice of ol 
■KoTCkoi. — Suam ipsi vitam narrare. Ordinary Latinity would require either 
suam ipsorum vitam narrare, or suam ipsos vitam narrare. Tacitus, avoiding 
such a construction as unpleasing to the ear, uses ipsi by a species of at 
traction to the leading verb of the sentence, arbitrati sunt. {Ritter, ad loc.) 
— Fiduciam morum. " As confidence in their own integrity," — Nee id JRu- 
tilio et Scauro, &c. " Nor did this prove unto a Rutilius and a Scaurus a 
ground for withholding full credit, or a source of censure," i. «., this writing 
of their own lives did not take away credit from their statements, nor were 
they even found fault with on this account. Compare note on " citra spe- 
ciem" Germ. , c. xvi. 

Rutilio. Rutilius, in addition to a biography of himself (of which Tacitus 
alone makes mention), composed a history and some orations. He was ac- 
cused of bribery by Scaurus, was unjustly condemned, and went into exile 
at Smyrna, of which place he became a citizen, and refused to return to 
Rome at the invitation of Sulla. — Scauro. M. iEmilius Scaurus, consul in 
A.U.C. 639, and again in 647, and censor in 645. He was one of the com- 
missioners sent into Africa in the time of Jugurtha, and suffered himself 
to be corrupted by that prince, but managed by his great influence to escape 
punishment. His autobiography is highly praised by Cicero. — Adeo. " Sn 
true it is that." Literally, " to such a degree." 

Chap. II. — At mihi, nunc narraturo, &c. "Unto me, however, when 
about, at a period like the present, to narrate the life of a deceased indi- 
vidual, there was need of indulgence." The explanation of this passage 
has already been given in the general summary prefixed to the notes on the 
previous chapter. Observe that fuit is here the aorist, and refers back to* 
the time when Tacitus first formed the design of writing the present work. 
Nunc has reference to the reign of Trajan, when this biography was com* 
posed. The meaning of the whole passage is exceedingly simple, but has 
been obscured, as usual, by the laborious efforts of numerous commentators. 
— Ni cursaturus tempora. "Were I not about to traverse times." A met 
aphor borrowed from the Roman circus. Some of the early editions read 
ni incursaturus, from which Lipsius conjectured ni incusaturus, and this 
last has been adopted by several subsequent editors. No change, however, 
is required in the common text. The explanation of the passage is given in 
the general summary already referred to. 

Legimus cum Aruleno Rustico, &c. Both occurrences took place in Do« 
tnitian'ti reign, A.U.C. 846 or 847. Tacitus was present at the death of 
Senecio. as we learn from chap. xlv. The reference in legimus is to the 



CHAP. III. J AGRICOLA. 209 

Acta Diuma ("Proceedings of the Day"), a kind of gazette, publiihed daily 
at Rome, under the authority of th» government, and containing an account 
of the proceedings of the public assemblies, courts of law, of the punishment 
of offenders, and also a list of births, marriages, deaths, &c. (Consult Diet. 
Ant. , s. v., and Le Clerc, Journaux chez les Romains, p. 197, seqq.) 

Andeno Rustico. Dion Cassius states that Domitian put Arulenus to 
death because he was a philosopher, and because he had given Thrasea the 
appellation of " holy" (iepov). Dion Cass., lxvii., 11. — Partus Thrasea. 
For the account of the death of this individual under Nero, consult Ann., 
xvi v 21.— Herennio Senecioni. With regard to this individual, consult chap, 
xlv. — Priscus Helvidius. Helvidius Priscus was the son-in-law of Thrasea. 
He was banished and put to death by Vespasian. (Suet., Vesp., 15.) — 
Laudati essent. The subjunctive after cum, which is here a causal con- 
junction. [Zumpt, § 577.) — Triumviris. The Triumviri Capitales are 
meant, among whose other duties was that of carrying into effect the sen- 
tences of the law, &c. They were attended by eight lictors to execute 
their orders. — In comitio acforo. The comitium adjoined the forum, and was 
the place of public execution in the time of the emperors. Originally it was 
the spot where the Comitia Curiata were held. The words acforo are added, 
to denote, as Wex remarks, that the burning of the books in question was 
intended as a spectacle for the public eye. 

Conscientiam generis humani. " The secret convictions of mankind. " 
This is well explained by the Delphin editor : " Cognitio hcec interna et arcana 
omnium mortalium, quce simul et secreta ac tacita accusatio fv.it scelerum Do- 
mitiani." — Expulsis xnsuper sapiential professoribus. Eusebius mentions 
that the philosophers (who are here meant by sapiential professores) were 
twice expelled by Domitian, first in A.D. 89, and again in A.D. 96. Tac 
itus refers to the latter of these. As, however, this expulsion of the phi- 
losophers is spoken of as the consequence of the deaths of Senecio and 
Arulenus, it should probably be placed in the commencement of A.U.C. 847, 
or A.D. 94. 

Vetus oetas. " The olden time." This expression, like prius azvum (Hist, 
i., 1), generally refers in Tacitus to the period before the battle of Actium. 
— Ultimum. " The farthest limit." By the ultimum in libertate we are not 
to understand the greatest happiness, nor the last remnants of liberty under 
Augustus and Tiberius ; but rather unbridled licentiousness, the immoderata 
libertas of Cicero. — Per inquisitiones. " By spyings (in the very bosoms of 
our families)." Compare Walch ; " heimliche Nachspahungen" The al- 
lusion is to the informers kept in pay by Domitian, who insinuated them- 
selves into private circles, in order to find grounds of accusation against the 
unsuspecting. — Et loquendi, &c. The conjunction et has here the force of 
etiam, "even." — Commercio. "The intercourse." — Memoriam quoque ip- 
sam, &c. The»idea is, we would have gone so far in our patient endurance 
of tyranny as not to have dared even to remember, if this had been possible. 

Chap. Ill, — Animus, " Courage." — Et quamquam. The conjunction et 



210 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. Ill 

has here Jhe force of et tamen, " and yet." — Beatisstmi sceculi. The term 
SKBculum here does not mean a century, but a "period" of uncertain dura- 
tion, lasting until another emperor introduced a new order of things. Thus 
Pliny {Ep.y x., 2) styles the reign of Domitian " tristissimum sceculum* The 
period, to the commencement of which Tacitus here alludes, deserved, as 
the event abundantly showed, the epithet beatissimum. It began when, after 
the death of Domitian, the imperial authority devolved on Nerva, and the 
virtues of this prince were emulated by the successive emperors, Trajan, 
Hadrian, and the two Antonines. The reigns of these five monarchs, em- 
bracing a period of nearly ninety years, formed the happiest era in the his- 
tory of the Roman empire. 

Nerva Caesar. Since Tacitus does not apply to him the term Divus, it' 
may be conjectured that the Life of Agricola was published while Nerva 
was still living, that is, between the 16th of September, A.D. 97, when Tra- 
jan was adopted, and the 27th of January, A.D. 98, the date of Nerva's 
death. — Olim dissociabiles. "Before irreconcilable." — Nerva Trajanus. 
Trajan was so called when adopted by Nerva. — Nee spem modo ac votum, 
&c. "And the public security has not only conceived hopes and wishes, 
but has attained unto confidence and stability," i. e., confidence in the ful- 
fillment of those very wishes, and a state of stable and secure repose. Ob- 
serve the zeugma in assumserit. The public security is here personified, 
and there is an allusion to the medallions struck by the emperors, with the 
figure of the goddess Securitas, and the inscription SECVRITAS or SE- 
CVRITATI PERPETVAE. 

Natura tamen infirmitatis humance. "Still, from the very nature of hu- 
man weakness." — Ingenia studiaque. " Talents and literary exertion."— 
Subit. " Steals over us." Analogous to the Greek vTTEpxerai, — Per quin- 
decim annos. During which Domitian reigned ; that is, from A.D. 81 to 96. 
— Multi fortuitis casibus. This is the emendation of Lipsius, and is adopted 
by the best editors. The common text has multis fortuitis casibus.— Prom- 
tissimus. " Most distinguished for readiness and activity." Compare Wex . 
" entschlossene, thatkraftige, muthvolle Manner.'' 1 

Paucif ut ita dixerim, &c. " A few of us are survivors not only of others, 
but, so to speak, even of our own selves," i. e., have outlived not only others, 
in a corporeal sense, but even our own selves in what relates to the mind ; 
or, in other words, have been able to resume our former habits of mental 
activity, which had so long been discontinued under the yoke of a tyrant. 
Compare Ritter: il Pauci extinctum diutino temporis intervallo animi vigor em 
in priorem mentis vitam excitare potuerunt." Tacitus employs the words ut 
ita dixerim as an apology for the boldness of expression in nostri superstites. 
The perfecs subjunctive, in such a case, in place of the present dicam, be- 
longs properly to later Latinity. Compare Zumpt, $ 528, n. 1. 

Quibus juvenes ad scnectuterr , &c. Tacitus could not include himself 
among the senes y since at this period he was only about forty-five years old. 
—Per silentium. By silentium is here meant the repression of mental ac- 
tivity, referring to what he had said before, studia repressers facilius quart 



r;!MP. IV.] AGRICOLA. 211 

revocaveris. — Vel incondiia ac rudi voce. " Even in unskillful and inelegant 
language." Tacitus alludes here to the legal style to which he had been 
accustomed in his pleadings at the bar, as contrasted with the higher and 
more dignified tone which historic narrative demanded. Compare Wex : 
" Inconditam igitur et rudem vocem dicit earn, quae a vera artis historic* 
forma ac perfectione abest (in kunst- und formloser- Sprache)." Proleg., 
p. 157. Consult also Walch, ad loc. The cultivation of the true his 
toric style had been completely suspended during the mental silence im 
posed by tyranny, and Tacitus thus apologizes for his want of practice 
therein. 

Memoriam prioris servitutis. " A memorial of former servitude." Name- 
ly, in his Annals and Histories. — Testimonium prcesentium bonorum. In the 
history of Nerva and Trajan, which he intended to compose in his old age. 
(Compare Hist., i., 1.) — Destinatus. ''Dedicated." — Professione pietatis, 
&c. "Will be either praised or excused, from its profession of filial piety," 
i. c, from the feeling of filial piety in which it professes to have been com- 
posed, ,or, in other words, from the piety of the intent. 

Chap. IV. — Forojuliensium Colonia. The town of Forumjulii was situate 
in Gallia Narbonensis, and is now Frejus. It must not be confounded with 
Forumjulii in Venetia, now Friuli. The term illustris is here applied to 
me former, not so much from its own intrinsic importance, as from the re- 
nown of its founder, Julius Cassar. It was founded about B.C. 43, on the 
site of the ancient Oxubia. — Procuratorem Ccesarum. " An imperial pro 
curator." These procuratores not only exacted the tribute from the prov 
mces, and acted as stewards where the emperor had possessions, but col- 
lected the vigesima hcereditatum and other imperial perquisites. — Qiub eques- 
tris nobilitas est. The procurator enjoyed the rank of an eques illustris, and 
also the right to sit in the senate and wear the lotus clavus. A distinction 
of rank had arisen even in the time of Augustus among the equites. 

Julius GrcBcinus. Seneca bears very honorable testimony to his charac 
ter, and says that he was put to death by Caligula because it was inexpe- 
dient for a tyrant to have so virtuous a subject. (Senec., de Bene/., ii., 21.) 
— Sapicntice. Philosophy is meant. — JYotus. Supply erat. — Caii Cessans. 
The historical name of Caligula was Caius Cassar. — Meritus. Supply est. 
•' Incurred." — Silanum. Silanus was consul A.D. 19. In A.D. 33, Caligula 
married his daughter Junia Claudilla. He was appointed proconsul of Af- 
rica, and afterward put to death by the emperor (Hist., iv., 48 ; Suet., Cal., 
23.) — Jussus. Supply est. 

In hujus sinu, &c. " Brought up in the bosom, and beneath the affection- 
ate care of this parent." The expression in sinu refers to the strict super- 
vision exercised by his parent, and indulgentia (which is here to be taken 
in a good sense) to the mildness with which that supervision was affection- 
ately enforced. Agricola's mother followed the old Roman custom of super- 
intending in person the early education of her son, instead of leaving mm 
*> the care of slaves. Hence the peculiar aptness of the expression in sinu 

E 2 



212 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. V, 

— Per omnem honestarum, &c. We must construe omnem here in sense wit* 
artium; " in the cultivation of all liberal studies ." 

Arcebat eum .... quod, &c. "It served to keep him, &c, that from 
earliest boyhood," &c. — Magistram. "Directress." — Massiliam. Mas- 
silia, called by the Greeks Massalia (Macro alia), and now Marseilles, was 
a celebrated colony of the PhocEeans, on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul. 
It became famous under the Roman emperors as a school of literature and 
the sciences. — Locum Grceca comitate, &c. " A place where Grecian re- 
finement was mingled and well united with provincial frugality." Enallage, 
for locum, in quo Grceca comitas et provincialis parsimonia mixta ac bene com* 
positas erant. 

Acrius hausisse. "Drank in too eagerly (and would have imbibed too 
deeply)." Hausisse is here commonly regarded as equivalent to hausurum 
fuisse. Wex, however, regards the clause as elliptical in its nature, and 
explains as follows : " Agricola hausit studium, sed to haurire erat initium 
ejus, de quo agitur, imbibendi. Est igitur : hausit (sive hauriebai) Agricola, 
atque toto animo imbibisset, ni mater prohibuisset," &c. 

Ultra quam concessum, &c. Observe that by senatori is here properly 
meant, not an actual senator, but a person of senatorian birth, that is, whose 
father was a senator (Dronke, ad loc). The study of philosophy was never 
neld in high estimation by the Romans. Here, however, the reference is 
to the state of things under the empire, when philosophical studies, es- 
pecially those connected with the doctrines of the Stoics, were viewed by 
bad princes with a suspicious eye, as tending to foster sentiments hostile to 
tyranny. 

Pulchritudinem ac speciem. " The beauty and the array." Not a hen 
diadys, as some maintain, for pulchr am speciem; on the contrary, spcces 
increases the force oipulchritudo. Compare Botticher (Prolegom. ad Tac, 
p. lxxxi.), " Auget species vim pulchritudinis, eamque designat qua oculis hom- 
inum sepr&bet." — Vehementius quam caute. The more regular construction 
would have been vehementius quam cautius. — Mox. "Subsequently." — 
Retinuitque, quod est difficillimum, &c. "And, what is most difficult, he re- 
tained from the study of wisdom moderation." The ancient philosophers 
taught that nothing is good in itself unless under the regulation offypovrjoic. 
(Plat., Men., p. 88, B. ; Arist., Eth. ad Nic, ii., 5.) 

Chap. V. — Prima castrorum rudimenta, &c. "He acquired the first 
rudiments of military training in Britain, to the full satisfaction of Sueto- 
nius Paulinus, an active and prudent commander, having been selected (by 
him) as one of whom he might form an estimate through the intimacy of a 
common mess." JEstimare implies the attentive contemplation of an abject 
in order to discover its value and quality. It is here applied to the study 
of character. It was usual for young men of rank and talents to be ad- 
mitted to familiar intercourse with the general, and to become members of 
his military family, as a sort of initiation into the duties of a military life. 
They were thus ? sort of aids, Contubernium properly denotes a tenting 



CHAP. V.] AGRICOLA. 213 

io^ether, that is, a certain number of scidiers quartered in the same tent, 
*nd messing together. 

Suetonio Paulino. Suetonius Paulinus was appointed to the command 
of Britain in A.D. 59, daring the reign of Nero, and Agricola probably came 
with him to the island. At all events, he was in Britain in A.D. 61.— Ap- 
probavit. When a person contracted to perform a piece of work, and brought 
it back completed according to i-*e terms of the agreement, he was said ap- 
probare opus locatori. (Gronov. I Plant. Amphit., Prol, 13.) Hence the 
figurative employment of the ve on the present occasion. 

Nee Agricola ad volupie-Zes, &c. " Neither did Agricola, &c, avail 

himself of the rank of tribune, and his military inexperience, for indulging 
m pleasures and in furloughs." Literally, "nor did he refer the rank of trib- 
une, &c, to pleasures," &c. Observe that licenter refers to voluptates, and 
segmter to commeatus. The young men, who were attached to the military 
family of the commander, were a species of titular tribunes, that is, they 
had the rank (titulus) of tribune, but were not invested with any actual com- 
mand ; hence theirs was not peritia, but inscitia. Having consequently 
much time on their hands, some gave themselves up to a life of dissipation, 
jthers to indolence and the enjoyment of frequent furloughs. Compare 
Wex, Prolegom., p. 136, and Ritter, ad loc. 

Noscere. Historical infinitive. So, also, the other infinitives in the sen 
tence. The grouping together of these gives great animation and rapidity 
to the style. — In jactationem. " For mere display." — Simulque anxius et 
intentus agere. "And discharged his duties at one and the same time with 
solicitude and with spirit." The adjectives have here the force of adverbs. 
Observe, moreover, that anxius refers to things future, intentus to things 
present. 

Exercitatior. "In a more agitated state." Poetic usage. The prose 
form of expression would be bello exercitatior. — Trucidati veterani, incenscR 
colonic. The veterans in the colony of Camulodunum {Colchester) are 
meant, whose town also was completely destroyed. — Intercepti exercitus. 
" Our armies were cut off and destroyed." Tacitus refers here to the legion 
under Petilius Cerealis, which was coming to the assistance of the veterans. 
The disturbance was quelled by Suetonius Paulinus, on his return from 
Mona. ( Ann., xiv., 29, seqq.) Camulodunum was the only colony in Brit- 
ain, and hence it has been proposed to read incensa colonia ; but the altera- 
tion is unnecessary, since Tacitus only appears to have used the plural in 
an oratorical manner, as the other words veterani and exercitus are in the 
plural. Londinium was not a colony ; and Verulamium (St. Alban's) was 
a municipium. Besides, we are not told that these places were burned. 

Alterius. Suetonius Paulinus. — Summa rerum. " The control of affairs." 
— Artem et usum et stimulos. " Professional skill, and experience, and in- 
centives." — Juveni. Agricola. — Ingrata temporibus. " Uncongenial to the 
times." Those, namely, of Nero. — Sinistra erga eminentes interpretatio. 
14 A sinister construction was put on the conduct of those who made them 
selves in any way conspicuous.'' — Fama. " Reputation." 



r 



214 NOTES ON THE [cHAF. VI 

Chap. VI. — In urbem digressus. This was in A.D. 62, and in Agricokt 
22d year. He could not sue for office, however, until his 24th year, accord- 
ing to the rule which prevailed under the empire. — Domitiam Decidianam. 
The name Decidiana may probably have arisen from he. mother having been 
called Decidia. The names Vespasianus and Domitianus arose in a similar 
way. — Decus ac robur fuit. It secured for him, in seeking preferment, the 
influence of the powerful Gens Domitia. — Et invicem se anteponendo. u And 
by each giving the preference to the other." More literally, " by mutually 
preferring one another." 

Nisi quod in bona uxore, &c. Observe that laus is here used for whatever 
's praiseworthy, and its opposite, culpa, for whatever is blamable. Nisi 
quod, which restricts or connects something that has been said before, is 
often used with an ellipsis, which must be supplied by the reader. So here 
the meaning of the sentence is, They both loved one another sincerely, and 
each gave the other the preference ; for which both deserve credit ; only we 
must allow that in a virtuous wife there is proportionally as much more of 
what is praiseworthy, as in a bad wife there is of what is blamable ; that is, 
when placed in comparison with the virtues and vices of the husband ; be- 
cause, from 1 le weaker character of woman, the restraining of any evil pro- 
pensities is more worthy of praise. 

Sors qucBsturm. " The lot of the qusestorship." The office of qusesto: 
was the entrance to all public employments, and was consequently the one 
first held by Agricola. He obtained it in his 25th year, A.D. 65. The 
quaestors, with the exception of the Candidati Principis, drew lots for their 
several provinces, that there might be no previous connection between them 
and the governors of the same, but that they might serve as checks upor 
each other. — Salvium Titianum. Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus, the elder 
brother of M. Salvius Otho, the future emperor, who was at that time serv- 
ing as proconsul in Lusitania. {Ann., xii., 52 ; Hist., i., 77, 90, &c). 

Parata peccantibus. " Prepared for delinquents," i. e., where many of the 
inhabitants stood ready to be the instruments of the crimes of their rulers. 
—Quantalibet facilitate. " By any facility, however great," i. e., by allowing 
Agricola any facility for plundering which he might wish. — Dissimulationem 
mali. " Concealment of guilt." — Filia. Afterward the wife of Tacitus. — 
Ante sublatum. "Previously born." Literally, "previously taken up," 
i, e., taken up and acknowledged. New-born infants were placed on the 
ground, and, if the father chose to acknowledge and rear them, he lifted them 
up (tollebat) ; if he did not do so, they were exposed. — Brevi amisit. He 
also lost a second son, born twenty years afterward. Compare chap, xxviii. 

Inter qucesturam ac tribunatum plebis. " The year between his quaestor- 
ship and tribuneship of the commons." Supply annum before inter. The 
year here meant was A.D. 66, and Agricola was then in his 26th year.— 
Proeturce. Agricola was praetor in A.D. 68. We have followed Wex in 
these official dates. (Proleg., p. 208.) — Nee enim jurisdictio obvenerat 
" For no actual jurisdiction had fallen to his lot." He was neither Prator 
urbanus nor Prator peregrinus, but of the number of those from whom all 



CHAP. VII.] AGRICOLA. 215 

judicial functions had virtually been taken by the usurpation of the emper- 
ors ; for even the Qucestiones Perpetuus were in the hands of the senate, and 
carried on under imperial direction. Little else, therefore, was left to tho 
praetors than the management and superintendence of the games. 

Ludos et inania honoris, &c. "He exhibited the games and empty pa 
geantry connected with official preferment, by keeping withm the limit 
prescribed by proper calculation and the extent of his own means ; as, on 
the one hand, far removed from lavish expenditure, so, on the other, nearer 
to an honorable fame," i. e., he exhibited them in such a way that, though 
celebrated without any great profusion, they would be extolled for their 
splendor, rather than passed over in silence, as though exhibited in a paltry 
manner. The games, &c, here referred to were those exhibited by the 
praetors on attaining to office, and on which those magistrates usually spent 
enormous sums, in order to ingratiate themselves with the people, and 
pave the way for higher preferment. — Modo rationis atque abundantice. &c. 
This is the uniform reading of the earlier editions. One of the MSS., how 
ever, has medio, altered probably by some copyist from the more difficult 
modo. If we adopt this latter reading, the meaning will be, "by pursuing 
a middle course between rational expenditure and profusion." The main 
objection to this reading is the presence of atque, which should connect 
cognate, not opposite things, as Doederlein correctly remarks. (Zumpt, 
§ 333.) Lipsius conjectures moderationis atque abundantioe, giving duxit the 
force of putavit, and supplying rem esse. The true reading, however, is the 
one which we have given. — Duxit. Observe that ducere is here equivalent 
to edere. The notion of leading a procession, &c, gave rise to that of 
"taking the lead in," " presiding over," " managing," &c. The verb rjyelG 
Oat is used in a similar way in Greek. 

Diligentissima conquisitione, &c. Not only were the temples destroyed 
by the conflagration in the reign of Nero ; but, when Nero himself was yd 
want of money for the erection of his palace, he despoiled the temples ol 
their offerings. {Ann., xv., 38, seqq.) Tacitus means to say, that Agricola 
succeeded in recovering most of the treasure from the hands of those who 
had appropriated it during the confusion, except such parts as had been 
plundered by Nero. These conquisitiones sacrorum were not unfrequently 
instituted. Compare Liv., xxv., 7. — Ne sensisset. " Should not have felt," 
i. e., did not feel. There is no enallage of tense here, as some suppose 
The reference is merely to what was passing at the time in the mind of 
Agricola, before the object in view was accomplished. He exerted himself 
to bring it about that the state should riot have felt the sacrilege, &c, after 
the matter might have been brought to a close. ( Walther, ad loc.) 

Chap. VII. — Sequens annus, &c. The affair here alluded to occurred iu 
the month of March, A.D. 69, during the brief reign of Otho, anc his con 
test with Vitellius. The cruelties and depredations committed on the coast 
of Italy by this fleet of Otho's are elsewhere described in striking colors by 
Tacitus (Hist, ii,, 12, seqq.). —Intemelios. " The Intemelii," i. c.« the terri 



23 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. VII. 

tory of the Interne ji. The name of their chief town was A Ibium Intemekum, 
now Vintimiglia. The attack was made on this place and its vicinity. — 
In prcediis suis. " On her own estates." — Causa. " The inciting cause." 

Ad solennia pietatis. " To discharge the solemn duties of filial piety." 
Nuntio affectati, &c. "Wis unexpectedly overtaken by the intelligence 
of the empire's having been laid claim to by Vespasian." The term affectati 
does not refer here, as some suppose, to an actual seizure of the empire, 
but merely to Vespasian's having made an open demonstration of his in- 
tention to seize it by force of arms. With deprehensus supply est. The 
verb deprehendo is generally employed to denote unexpected and sudden in- 
telligence ; both ideas are blended here. — Ac statim in partes transgressus 
With partes supply ejus, referring to Vespasian. The adverb statim here, 
like mox, modo, nuper, &c, elsewhere in Tacitus, must not be taken in too 
strict a sense. At least three months must have elapsed between the death 
of his mother and his going over to Vespasian, as will appear from the fol- 
lowing dates. Thus, Otho's death, after the battle of Bedriacum, took place 
m April, A.D. 69 (Hist., ii., 55) ; Vitellius visited the battle-field forty days 
after the battle (Hist., ii., 70) ; and Vitellius's entry into Rome took place 
on the 18th of July (Hist., ii., 91). 

Initia principatus. " The commencement of the new reign," i. e., that of 
Vespasian. At first, indeed, Antonius Primus marched into Rome at the 
end of December, A.D. 69 ; but in the following January Mucianus arrived, 
and acquired all the power (Hist., iv., 11). — Admodum juvene. He was at 
that time only eighteen years old. — Tantum licentiam usurpante. " Claim 
.rig only the privilege of indulging in licentiousness." Domitian became 
afterward one of the most ferocious and detestable of the Roman emperors. 

Is. Referring to Mucianus. — Missum ad delectus agendas. In the be- 
ginning of A.D. 70. Agricola set out for Britain probably in the spring of 
the same year. — Integreque ac strenue versatum. " And who had conducted 
himself (in that employment) with fidelity and vigor." — Vicesimce legioni, 
&c. The reason why, of the four legions posted in Britain (the second, 
ninth, fourteenth, and twentieth), the second only took the oath promptly, 
is given by Tacitus elsewhere (Hist., iii., 44). The twentieth legion was 
stationed among the Cornavii, at Deva, now Chester. — Decessor, " His pred- 
ecessor." The individual here meant was Roscius Coelius. For an ac 
count of the affair, consult Hist, i., 60. Vettius Bolanus was sent to supply 
the place of Trebellius, whom Coelius had forced to fly to Vitellius, at 
Lyons. 

Quippe legatis quoque consularibus, &c. " For this legion was too much 
for, and formidable even unto the consular lieutenants," t. e., even unto 
Trebellius Maximus and Vettius Bolanus. The legati cmsulares, in the 
time of the emperors, were individuals who had been consuls, and were 
governors of the province and commanders over all the legions stationed in 
it. On the other hand, the legati prcetorii were those who had filled the office 
of praetor, and were in command of only a single legion. The legatus prceto- 
"iuSi in the present instance, was Roscius Ccelius (Hist., i., 60).— Incertum, 



CHAP. VIII., IX.] AGRICOLA. 217 

suo an militum ingenio. Either because he did not know how to command 
or they to obey. 

Chap. VIII. — Placidius. " With more mildness." — Dignum est. Some 
have proposed esset here instead of est ; but though this "would do very well 
if it were merely a reniark of Tacitus, founded upon past events, est is 
equally well suited to the time in which Tacitus was writing ; for, after the 
death of Agricola, Britain, or at least Caledonia, had thrown off the yoke 
{Hist., i., 2). — Vim suam. "His native spirit." — Ne ineresceret. '*, Tha 
he might not grow too much into notice," i. e., become too conspicuous, anc 
appear to eclipse his commander. Some refer ineresceret to ardorem, bu. 
then, as Ernesti remarks, ne ineresceret would be pleonastic. — Brevi deindt 
Britannia, &c. This was in A.D. 71. Petilius Cerealis had before this 
been lieutenant of the ninth legion under Suetonius Paulinus. He was 
afterward one of the generals of Vespasian, to whom he was related. — Spat- 
ium exemplorum. " Room for displaying themselves as examples." 

Communicabat. " Share with him," i. e., with Agricola. Supply cum Mo 
— Ex eventu. " From the issue," i. e., in consequence of the successful 
termination of some affair. Equivalent to quum eventus id suasisset. {Hand, 
ad Tursell., ii., p. 659.) — In suam famam. "In order to increase his own 
renown." Observe here the peculiar construction of in with the accusative, 
and compare Livy (xxi., 43). Generally, in the older writers, when in or ad 
is used after a verb to express an object, a participle is subjoined. Others 
join in suam famam with factis. — Ad auctorem et ducem, &c. "He con 
stantly, as a subordinate officer, gave the honor of his good fortune to the in 
dividual with whom his orders originated, and who was likewise his leader." 
—Nee extra gloriam erat. Observe that nee is here for nee tamen. 

Chap. IX. — Revertentem ab legatione legionis. " On his return from the 
ieutenancy of the legion," i. e., from the command of it. The twentieth 
legion is meant. — Diw.s. Consult notes on chap, xxviii. of the Germania. 
— Provincial Aquitanice. Gallia Comata comprised three provinces, Aqui- 
tania, Gallia Lugdunensis or Celtica, and Belgica. Aquitania was the 
tract between the Garonne, the Loire, the Pyrenees, and the Cevennes. It 
was annexed to the Roman empire under Augustus. — Splendidce in primis 
dignitatis, &c. "An office of the first distinction, on account of the im- 
portance of the command itself, and the hope it gave rise to of the consul- 
ship, to which he (Vespasian) had destin^ him." Administratione is well 
explained by Wex: " Propter magnitudinem rerum ibi gerendarum." After 
destinarat supply eum. Agricola was placed over this province in A.D. 74, 
in his 34th year. 

Subtilitatem. "Acuteness." — Secura et obtuswr. "Careless (respect- 
ing the niceties of law), and more blunt in character." — Manu. "In 
an off-hand way." Some render this " by physical force," but very incor- 
rectly. Compare the explanation of Wex : " Sine fori ambagious celeriter 
e* conficit noxios plectendo ; nos : Kurzen Process machen, summariseb 

K 






218 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. IX, 

verfahren." — Calliditatem fori non exerceat. " Docs not call into exercise 
he subtle distinctions of the bar." The subjunctive here indicates the 
sentiments of others, not those of Tacitus himself. 

Naturali prudentia. " By dint of native sagacity." — Inter togatos. " In 
She midst of civilians." The allusion here is to the conventus juridici, a* 
circuit courts (assizes), in which Agricola, as governor of the province, was 
now called to preside. The term togatos is here equivalent to litigantes 
Suits could only be carried on in the toga, and in Latin. We must be care- 
ful, therefore, not to regard togatos here as applying to lawyers or advocates 
alone, or to citizens merely in opposition to soldiers. — Agebat. " Decided.'' 

Jam. " From this time fofward." — Curarum remissionumque. " Of busi- 
ness and relaxation." — Officio. " Official duty." — Nulla ultra potestatis 
persona. " There was no playing the part of the man in power after this," 
i. <?., of the magistrate. Observe here the figurative meaning of persona. 
Its literal signification is " a theatrical mask," whence it obtains the sense 
of sustaining a character or playing a part. — Tristitiam et arrogantiam ei 
avaritiam " Official sternness, and the rigid requirement of respect, and 
unflinching severity in exacting what was due to the state." By tristitia is 
here meant the sternness which beseems a magistrate ; by arrogantia, not 
the assumption of what does not belong to a person, but the rigid exaction 
of all the respect and attention to which he has a claim. The term avaritia, 
on the other hand, has here somewhat of its ordinary meaning. Agricola 
»vas not naturally avarus, any more than he was tristis or arrogans ; but he 
was obliged to comply with the commands of Vespasian, who was likely 
enough to replenish his exhausted coffers by exactions from this wealthy 
province. Hence avaritia, in the present passage, implies the greatest se- 
verity in exacting tribute, or what was due to the state. Some editors, mis- 
understanding the force of avaritia here, give exuere the meaning of " to be 
entirely free from," but there is no authority whatever for such an interpre- 
tation. — Facilitas. " Affability." 

Abstinentiam. " Freedom from corruption." — Per artem. By means of 
such arts as governors frequently employ to secure the good-will of theii 
provincial subjects. There is an allusion perhaps, also, to addresses of 
thanks from the inhabitants of the province to the emperor, during and after 
the time of administration. — Collegas. Magistrates who were created at 
the same comitia, and, when these were no longer held, by the senate and 
emperors, were called colleges. So in Hist., ii., 10, the colleagues of Mu- 
cianus are the governors of Judaea, Cappadocia, and Egypt ; as, here, the 
colleagues of Agricola are all the provincial prefects, especially those ap- 
pointed over the Gallic and Spanish provinces. — Procurators. Each prov 
ince had only one procurator at a time, and it does not seem that they were 
often changed ; so that this plural must imply disputes such as commonly 
arise between governors and procurators. — Vincere. In such disputes ai 
these. — Atteri sordidum. " To be worsted was a positive disgrace." Attert 
here implies an infringement upon a person's dignity, or upon the respec/ 
and attention to which he h»« cbim 



,!1,\!\ X.] AGRICOLA. 219 

Minus triennium. Supply quam after minus (Zumpt, *) 485). — Comitante 
opinione. " Public opinion accompanying him," i. e., while, at the same 
time, a general opinion prevailed. — Nullis in hoc, &c. u ~>n account of no 
remarks of his own to this effect." — Par. "Equal to^the . ^ion." — Ali 
quando et elegit. " Sometimes it has even determined a choice. 

Consul. "When consul." This was in A.D. 77, when Vespasian, for 
the eighth time, and Titus for the sixth, entered upon the consulship, and 
were succeeded, on the first of July, by Domitian, then consul for the sixth 
time, and Agricola. — Egregics turn speijiliam. Agricola's daughter was al- 
most fourteen. Tacitus was in his twenty-fifth year. Observe the force of 
turn, as referring to the hopes that were then formed of the female in question 
and that were subsequently realized. — Adjecto pontificatus sacerdotio. Thi; 
never ceased to be reckoned a mark of distinction. 

Chap. X. — Multis scriptoribus. As, for example, Caesar (B. G., iv., 2* 
scqq. ; v., 8, seqq., &c), Pliny (H. iV., iv., 16), Ptolemy (iii., 2), Diodoru 
Siculus (v., 21, 22), Agathemerus (ii., 4), Strabo (ii., p. 116, 120, 128 ; iii , 
p. 137, 195 ; iv., p. 199, 200), Livy (i., 105), Fabius Rusticus, Pompoms 
Mela, and others. 

Non in comparationem, &c. " Not with the view of comparing my ac 
curacy or talent (with that of others)." Compare note on in suamfamam t 
chap. viii. — Perdomita est, "It was completely subdued." — Percoluere. 
" Have embellished." — Rerumfide. " With fidelity of facts," t. e., from the 
evidence of actual discoveries. — Spatio ac ccelo. " In situation and climate." 
The old geographers gave the northern coast of Spain a northwesterly di- 
rection ; and, unacquainted with the extent to which Bretagne reached west- 
ward, made the coasts of Gaul and Germany run in an almost uniform north- 
easterly direction. Tacitus seems to have placed Britain in the angle thus 
formed. He means to say here that it is situated between nearly the same 
degrees, both of latitude and longitude, as those parts of the coast of Spain 
and Germany opposite to which it lies. From chap. xxiv. it appears that 
he imagined Ireland to lie between Britain and Spain., though there is nc 
reason to suppose that he placed it on the southwest of Britain. 

In orientem Germanics, &c. "On the east toward Germany, on the west 
toward Spain." Observe that Germanics and Hispanics are datives depend- 
ing on obtenditur. — Gallis in meridiem etiam inspicitur. " It is even seen by 
the Gauls on the south." He means that it lies so near Gaul on the south 
as even to be plainly seen from it. — Nullis contra terris. Examples of ab- 
latives absolute, used in this same manner, are found in other writers be- 
sides Tacitus. Thus, Cic, Phil., i., 10 : " Bonis tribunis plebis ;" and Liv. 
xxxvi., 6 : " Multorum eo statu, qui diuturnus esse non posset." 

Livius. In his 105th book (now lost, but of which we have the Epitome), 
in which he gave an account of Julius Caesar's expedition into Britain. — 
Fabius Rusticus. A contemporary of Claudius and Nero, and a near friend 
of Seneca, more so than was consistent with the unbiased statement of 
truth, which should characterize the historian. (Ann., xiii., 20.) He wrote 



220 



NOTES ON THE 



{CHAP. X. 



the history of his own times, and probably mentioned Britain when speak 
mg of the expedition of Claudius (A.D. 43). 

Oblonga scutula. "To an oblong scutula." The scutula was properly a 
email kind of dish or tray. Wex gives the following delineation of botfe the 
st.utula and biptnnn. 





Et est ea fanes, &c. 'And this is, in reality, its appearance, exclusive 
:)f Caledonia ; and hence the popular report respecting its form has passed 
over (and been applied) unto the whole island." Observe thatfama is here 
the nominative, and we must supply with it a genitive from fades. The 
expression in universum is equivalent here to in universam Britanniam. — Scd 
immensum et enorme, &c. " But an immense and irregular extent of land, 
jutting out from that part where the coast now almost comes to an end, is 
gradually contracted, as it were, into the form of a wedge." Observe tha* 
the words extremo jam littore are not to be joined, by means of the figure 
called hyperbaton, with velut in cuneum tenuatur, but with terrarum procur- 
rentium. In the words extremo jam littore Tacitus alludes to the narrow 
isthmus between the Clota {Clyde) and Bodotria (Forth), the southern 
boundary of Caledonia. 

Novissimi maris. "Of the farthest sea." — Tunc primum. Referring to 
tne time of Agricola. — Incognitas ad id tempus insulas. But, according to 
Eusebius, Claudius had already annexed these islands to his dominions ; 
and the same is asserted by Eutropius (vii., 5) ; and certainly a report of 



CHAP. X.J AGRICOLA. 221 

their existence had reached Rome by that time. Mela estimates theii 
number at thirty ; Pliny at forty ; so that perhaps incognitas may here be 
equivalent to leviterox non penitus cognitas. — Dispecta est e.t Thule. " Thule, 
also, was but just discerned in the distance." The verb dispici is used when 
speaking of any thing which can not be distinguished without difficulty. 
Thule is variously identified by different authors with Mainland (one of 
the Shetland Isles), Norway, and Iceland. The Thule of Ptolemy is prob 
ably the first of these ; the Thule of Tacitus, the last-mentioned country. — 
Quam hactenus nix et hiems abdebat. The text here is doubtful. Some 
editions have Dispecta est et Thule quadamtenus ; nix et hiems adpetebat : 
"Thule, also, was to some extent descried; snow and winter were seek- 
ing to make it their own." Our reading, however, gives the best sense, 
hactenus abdebat signifying " were accustomed hitherto to conceal." Other 
variations from the common reading may be seen in Waltber and Ritter. 

Pigrum et grave remigantibus. " Sluggish and laborious to rowers." It 
would appear that the first navigators of Britain, in order, no doubt, to en 
hance the idea of their dangers and hardships, had represented the North 
era Sea as in so thickened and half solid a state, that the oars could scarcely 
be worked, or the water agitated by the winds. Tacitus, however, rather 
chooses to explain its stagnant condition from the want of winds, and the 
difficulty of moving so great a body of waters. But the fact, taken either 
way, is erroneous ; as this sea is never observed to be frozen, and is re- 
markably stormy and tempestuous. — Perinde. " As it is elsewhere." 
Compare note on perinde, chap. v. of the Germania. 

Rariores. "Are here of rarer occurrence." Supply sunt hie. — Continui 
maris. " Of one continued expanse of sea." — Impellitur. "Is set in mo- 
tion." — Justus. The ebb and flow of the tide in the Northern Ocean was 
a matter of some astonishment to the Romans, as in the Mediterranean Sea 
there is scarcely any tide at all. (Plin., H. N., xvi., 1.) — Ac. "And, be- 
sides." — Multi retulere. As, for example, Pytheas of Massilia (ap Plut. 
Plac. Philos., iii., 17), Pliny (H. IV., ii., 97, 99), Seneca (Qucest. Nat., iii., 
28), and Lucan (Phars., i., 409). 

Nusquam latius dominari mare, &c. " That the sea nowhere exercises 
a more extensive dominion ; that it bears along many currents in this di- 
rection and in that ; and that not as far as the shore merely does it increase 
cr is it drawn back, but that it flows far inland, and winds about, and in- 
sinuates itself even among hills and mountains, as" if in its native bed," i. e., 
its ebbings and flowings are not confined to the shore, but it penetrates into 
the heart of the country, and works its way among hills and mountains, as 
n its native bed. The great number of friths and inlets, which almost cut 
through the northern parts of the island, as well as the height of the tides 
on the coast, render this language of Tacitus peculiarly proper. — Velnt in 
8uo. Equivalent, in fact, to veluti jugis montibusque in suo. The ancients 
as the moderns do, taught that the bed of the sea, like the continent, con 
tained valleys and mountains, the summits of which formed rocks and isl- 
ands. (Plin., H. IV., ii., 102 ; vi., 22.) 



822 



NOTICE <>n TUB 



'MAT. XI. 



(|| *i' JCI linifr:,,! Ottinm i tioni thai th* 't/nabitanl ol the Ib 

n-in.i jijiii-: ..Ml,, Island ware mppo» od to bi <'i ii.i in i i: c, 

v , i ■ ) Ut mi, > imrhnn " kali usual among barbarian " Supply fUri 
,..>!, r //.,/.,/;,-. oorporwn " Tho oharaotaristici of thoii IYam< ." - t., theil 
phj li 'i Mi" srnnos Li fitments " a. --,,,,„ nts (are di 
theii origin. Supply iunf, oi oo/Mgnntui [Vemow Tl 

(liffOl ImI\\..ii ;/,mi t M. I n.///;./;^ ..-. L. lu.iu r-;/;/» ,ni.| Wniuil, jf/^inul 

fCfl] )ii|i. iWuio/ur lii.iv l'< lir,|ii<'iillv I i in I ,1. .1, .i . ,n llw |n< • , i,i p.i , .•, 

iii" , i ii < '"■ <• " Rutiln tumttp, *Ve Oomparo ohap li .-ML 

»»».iin..' f where tho phyiloal sppearanoe ol iii<- Germans in described Cta 

niuiiii ,uii oi irnirni Tlir i n li.il nl .ml H ol < \il<-< lmi i.i WCM n.l , (IN TttOitU 

userts, "i I •'« -MM."!, but «>i ( loltio oi Igln 

,\iiin,im oolotati uvfttu "'I'!,.- swarthy complexions ol the Bilurt 
'rii<- Slluroi .m w.i to the people ol VI r alei They ocoupiod whet ere u..u 
id. ii lountlei ol Brecknock, Glamorgan, Monmouth, Hertford, and Raelnof 
Tlorll "ruiiy" \n Iberian origin fbi the Nilun Ii quits out 

«.i ill. <|u. -i i.mi 'I'll, v w . i. ..i iiw old British oi Uoltie stool Vrwimi 
(•'oihi, *v< u Those nearest the Gaul re lomblo, ..!<■. thi Inhabits 

III ,1 < ..I I III I V " I.iI.ImIIv. " Ml.- :ll :<> IlKn (thOm) " < Ml'!.. .', ill. Hill ;ll Hi mi i 

ol iiw modem Kent are moil fkvombl> spoKcn <»i i»\ ('» ur, n* n ? .h.i . . n 
[ligation | U <> . \ , i i ) Seu durante oriffinie vi, iVe " Rlthoi b< 
iIh uiiiii. ii. q ..i b common origin itill remains, oi bs< iu io, the lands running 
• mi m opposite directions (""hi they approach one another)) uliraai 
given thli i haraotei i" theii frame He means the kou thorn pari ol Urii 

■nil .in.i the northern pari ol Gaul Thus, Brits mini In r southern 

.in. . i |o ". according to !""•. and ( laul In ■■ northern one, the two countries 
would approaeh each other, until the} lay opposite With habitum supply 

I'lonim -.oil, i ,i<i>i i in iij.i ■ , \ .• ■■ \ .mi m.iy disoovoi traces "i Hi." re 
llgioui system ■ " the Arm bi liel i"< ii" - Britons) "• oertain superstition 
i 'o; u -ii refers to the Gaul i, ii"- people mentioned ••< the close ol the previous 
sentence The superitltiou • rite ■ hi re mennl arc particularly the myste 
i i.mi iu.i blood} lolemnitiei ol the Druid i Vn>\\\ Iho I mituags ol Ta< Itus 
ii would seem to follow thai Druid Ism < ime into niii.nn (Vorn Gaul, and 
tin . no doubt, « the oorreol vinw "i iiw mutin \« ■. ■.•i.im- 1.» < '.<• i 1, h,i« 
ever, the Institution originated In Britain (/J G ,n . i I) The parenl home 
..i Druldism li now thought to have been the remote Kn i itfanum 

Kquh alenl to pi 
a i. '.r,-.r (Quints . i . i. 8 ) i" •'■ ' !" oourtin 

r.n'i " This tallies precisely with Ci m'b aooount of the Qauli (H << . 

nl. ( 10.) Formido u Want, ofnervc." bWorin " M.nii.d spirit " 
it.wn n.. i me. in •• i. iroi dou •." but " proud snd ilnunth 
from warfare." U olim uielis "To those ol ihe Britons whe 

have long been subdued," > < . the lubjeel i ol Oynols llinu . conquered by 
nUudlue, ( H s/oa, eel /■•- ) 



CH*f. XII.J AGRICOLA 223 

Chap. XII. — Honestior auriga, &c. "The more honorable individual is 
charioteer; his vassals fight for him," i. c, the noble drives the chariot ; his 
dependants light from the same. In the Homeric poems, on the contrary, 
among the Greeks and Trojans, the fjvioxoc was the less noble of the two 
— Nunc per principes, &c. "Now they are torn asunder by the nobles 
with parties and factions." Trahuntur for distrahuntur, i. e., vexantur. — 
Duabus tribusque civitatibus. " On the part of two or three states." Lit- 
erally, "unto two and three states." Observe the force of the dative here, 
which approximates in meaning to the genitive, by a poetic idiom. (Madvig, 
s 1 241 ; Obs. 3.) — Conventus. Tacitus is speaking of assemblies for the for 
mat ion of plans for their common operations. 

Caelum crebris imbribus, &c. A remark still fully applicable to the cli- 
mate of Britain. — Ultra nostri orbis mensuram. Elliptical for ultra mensu~ 
ram dierum nostri orbis. Pliny says that in Italy the longest day lasts 
fifteen hours ; in Britain, seventeen. (H. iV., ii., 75.) — Discrimine. " In- 
terval." — Solis fulgorem. If by solis fulgor we could understand the light 
arising from the refracted rays of the sun, this would be strictly true ; but 
the words nee occidere . . . scd transire are hardly applicable to this, and 
must refer to the sun itself. — Transire. " Moves across the sky." 

Scilicet extrcma et plana terrarum, &c. This has already been explained 
in the notes on chap. xlv. of the Germania.—Non erigunt tenebras. " Do 
not cast their shadow in a perpendicular direction," i. e., do not shroud the 
whole heaven in darkness. — Infraque cozlum et sidera nox cadit. That is, 
the surface of the earth only is darkened, while the sky and stars appear 
above the shadow, and are illumined by the rays of the sun. — Prater. " Ex- 
cept." — Patiens frugum. For a long time Britain was the granary of the 
Roman army on the Rhine. Zosimus (iii., 5) speaks of eight hundred ves 
sels employed, by order of the Emperor Julian, in transporting corn to Gei 
many. — Tarde mitescunt, cito proveniunt. " They ripen slowly, they come 
forth quickly," i. e., growth is quick, but maturation slow. With mitescunt 
and proveniunt the term fruges must be mentally supplied.— Cadi. " The 
atmosphere." 

Pert Britannia aurum. Strabo (iv., p. 138) agrees with Tacitus. Cicero, 
on the contrary, denies that any precious metals (or, rather, that any silver) 
was found in Britain. (Ep. ad Att., iv., 16.) Cambden speaks of gold 
mines in Cumberland and Scotland, and of silver mines near Ilfracomb. — 
Margarita. The neuter plural, from margaritum, which, however, is of rare 
occurrence, and does not appear in Cicero. The feminine form is the more 
usual. Pliny says that the British pearls were small and discolored (H. N., 
ix., 35). Bede, on the contrary (Hist. Angl., i., 4) : " In quibus sunt mus- 
eulae, quibus inclusam scepc margaritam omnis coloris quidem optimam inve- 
niunty i. e., rubicundi et purpurei, et hyacinthini et prasini, sed maxime can- 
didi." The pearls which are found in Caernarvonshire, in the River Con- 
way, and in Cumberland, in the River Irt, are equal to the best of those 
brought from the Indian Ocean ; but they are so few and small as not to re 
pay the trouble of searching for them. 






224 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XIH. 

Artem. " Skill," i. e., in detaching the shell-fish from the rocks. — Rubro 
Mari. " The Indian Ocean." Between Ceylon and Persia. The Rubrum 
Mare (jj kpvdph dahaaGa) of the ancients included both the Sinus Persicus 
and the Sinus Arabicus. — Prout expulsa sint. "As they have been thrown 
up (by the sea)." — Naturam margaritis deesse. " That a proper nature is 
wanting to the pearls (of this country)." By natura is here meant what the 
Greeks term noioryg tyvoLKrj, that is, in the present instance, brilliancy and 
whiteness, which the Indian pearls possess. Compare Wex, ad loc. 

Chap. XIII. — Ipsi Britanni. From an account of the island, he now pro* 
ceeds to that of the inhabitants themselves. Compare a similar employment 
of the pronoun ipse in the Germania, chap. ii. — Impigre obeuni. "Cheer- 
fully undergo." — Injuries. " Injurious treatment," i. e. 3 the insolence of op- 
pression. — Igitur. " Thus." This particle is here intended to be explana- 
tory of what immediately precedes, namely, jam domiti ut pareant, &c. 
Compare Hand, ad Tursell., iii., p. 186, seqq. — Britanniam ingressus. In 
B.C. 55 and 54. — Divus Julius. Consult notes on chap. viii. of the Ger- 
mania. — Mooc bella civilia. Supply fuere. — Principum. " Of the leaders." 
— Consilium. "Policy." Strabo (ii., p. 115; iv., p. 200) assigns the reason 
for this conduct in relation to Britain. The Romans had nothing to fear 
from that island, nor would much advantage be derived from the possession 
of it ; and, at the same time, it could not be conquered and kept in sub- 
jection without considerable expense. — Prceceptum. "An injunction (on 
the part of his predecessor)." 

Agitasse C. Ccesarem. "That Caius Caesar had formed the design." 
Caligula is meant. This expedition was undertaken not .rom Gaul, but 
from the Batavian shores. The light-house which Caligula built was at the 
second mouth of the Rhine, now choked with sand, where the remains of 
it still exist, and are called by sailors the Calla- Thurm. — Ni velox ingenio, 
&c. " (And he would have carried out this design) had he not been pre- 
cipitate in forming schemes, fickle in changing his mind," &e. Observe 
the elliptical commencement of the sentence. With ni supply fuisset. We 
have followed Bekker in mobilis pcenitentia. Others have mobilis pcenitentia 
or mobili poznitentia, both of which are less in the style of Tacitus. — Ingentes 
adversus Germaniam, &c. Consult notes on chap, xxxvii. of the Ger- 
mania. 

Auctor operis. " Was the author of the vf;nr£," i. e., was the one that 
carried these designs into effect. For an account of the successes of 
Claudius, or, rather, of Plautius and Vespasian, in A.D. 43, consult Hist., iii., 
4 i ; Suet., Claud., 17. — Inpartem rerum. " To a share in the undertaking.*' 
—Monstratusfatis. " Was pointed out by t le fates." As this expedition 
laid the foundation of Vespasian's subsequent elevation to the throne, by 
the fame which he thereby acquired of an able commander, it may well be 
said that the fates now began to give indications of his future career. Ob» 
serve that fatis is here the ablative without a, instances of which construe 
tion are not unfrequently found. 



CHAP. XIV., XV.J AGRICOLA. 225 

Chap. XIV. — Aldus Plautius. He was the legatus consularis during the 
/ears A.U.C. 796-800. — Propositus. "Was placed over the island." For 
propositus est insula. — Subinde Ostorius Scapula. Daring the years 800- 
803. *For an account of his contests with the Silures under Caractacus, con- 
suit Ann., xii., 31, seqq. Though he penetrated to the Irish Sea, and Ca- 
ractacus was delivered up by Cartismandua, the queen of the Brigantes, he 
did not subdue the Silures. Oyster Hill, near Hereford, the site of a Ro- 
man camp, received its name from him. — Proxima. "Nearest unto us," 
i. <?., to Italy and Rome. How much of the southern part of the island is 
included in this expression can not be determined. — Veteranorum Colonia. 
This was at Camulodunum, now Colchester, the residence of Cynobellinus. 
Camulodunum means " the city of Mars" (Camulus among the Britons an- 
swering to Mars). It was called Colonia victrix, and was chosen for the 
station of the fourteenth legion. Compare Ann., xii., 32. 

Cogiduno. Cogidunus is not mentioned elsewhere. He was, perhaps, a 
vassal of the sons of Cynobellinus. — Vetere acjampridem recepta, &c. " Ac- 
cording to the old and long established custom of the Roman people, to have 
even kings as the instruments of slavery." — Didius Gallus. He held the 
command during A.U.C. 804-810. — In ulteriora promotis. " Having been 
pushed forward into the more remote regions." Apparently into the territo- 
ry of the Silures. — Fama audi officii. " The credit of having extended the 
bounds of his administration," i. e., of having enlarged his province. — Ve 
ranius. This commander made some incursions into the territory of the 
Silures, and would no doubt have pushed his conquests farther, had he not 
been cut off by a premature death. Consult Ann., ii., 56, 74 ; iii., 10, 13, &c. 

Subactis nationibus. "In the subjection of tribes," not " after the rebell 
ious tribes had been subdued," as some erroneously translate it. The past 
participle has a similar force in Ann., xvi., 21 : " Nero virtutem ipsam ex 
scindere concupivit, interfecto Thrasea Pato," " Nero wished to destroy virtue 
itself by killing Thrasea Paetus." — Monam insulam. The Mona of Tacitus 
is now the Isle of Anglesea, whereas the Mona of Caesar is the Isle of Man* 
The Mona of Tacitus was the chief seat of the Druidical religion in Britain, 
and was on this account attacked by Paulinus, who wished to put an end, by 
these means, to the influence exercised by the Druid priesthood in stirring 
up the Britons against the Roman power. Paulinus took the island, and 
destroyed the groves in which human sacrifices were accustomed to be 
offered. For a spirited sketch of the affair, consult Ann., xiv., 30. 

Vires. Tacitus says that the island was powerful in its inhabitants {in 
colis validam). — Terga occasioni patefecit. "Laid open to a surprise the 
settlements behind him." Tacitus alludes to the revolt of the Britons under 
Boadicea, of which an account is given in Ann., xiv., 31, as well as in tho 
two following chapters of the present work. 

Chap. XV. — Inter pretando. "By commenting upon them." — Ex facili. 
" Easily." This expression has been formed after the model of such phrases 
M ex inopinato, ex insperato, ex abundanti (Quintil., iv., 5, 15) ; ex affluent* 

K2 



226 



NOTES ON THE 



[CHAP. XVI. 



(Hist., ., 57), &(;. The same idiom occurs in Greek, as, kn rov efidaveoz 
[Herod., iii., 150) ; k% aelirruv {Soph., Aj., 715), &c. — Singulos sibi olim, 
&c. " That formerly they had only one king for each nation." Observe 
'he force of singulos here ; one king for each nation ; not merely one king, 
which would have been unum regem. — Sceviret. The subjunctive, as indi- 
cating the sentiments of the speaker, not those of the writer. — JEque . . . 
ceque. So pariter . . .pariter. (Ovid, Met., xii., 30.) T 0/zotoc . . . 6fiol(jg 
are used in the same manner. — Alterius manus, centuriones alterius, &c. 
" That the officials of the one, the centurions of the other, mingled violence 
and insults," i. e., treated them with mingled violence and insult. The first 
alterius refers to the procurator, and by manus are meant his under-officers ; 
the second alterius refers to the legatus. Compare Walch, ad loc. 

Eocceptum. " Excepted from," i. e., unviolated by. — Spoliet. Compare 
note on scsviret. — Tamquam mori tantum, &c. "As if ignorant only how- 
to die for their country." — Nescientibus agrees with illis understood in the 
preceding clauses. — Quantum. " How mere a handful." OneoftheMSS. 
has quantulum, the correction of some copyist, who was ignorant that tantus, 
quantus, and the like, are employed to express diminution as often as en- 
largement. — Sic Germanias excussisse jugum. By the overthrow of Varus, 
and the slaughter of his legions. The plural form Germanias has reference 
to the Roman subdivisions of that country. Consult notes on chap. i. of 
the Germania. — Et. " And yet." — Non oceano. As the Britons were. 

Divus Julius. This expression seems rather strange in the mouth of a 
barbarian ; but the Roman writers were not so scrupulously exact in such 
matters as modern criticism requires. — Recessisset. Compare note on scevi- 
ret, above. — Impetus. " Of impetuous feeling."— Qui detinerent. " Since 
they detained." The subjunctive with the relative, because containing the 
reason of what precedes. — Quod difficillimum fuerit. " What has ever been 
most difficult." The subjunctive as in sceviret, before mentioned. — Porro. 
" In fine." — Audere. " To dare to put them into execution." 



Chap. XVI. — Boadicea. The name is variously spelt, Boudicea, Boodi- 
cea, Boadicea. The last form has most authority in its favor. She was the 
wife of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, a tribe inhabiting the eastern coast 
of Britain. She put an end to her own life A.D. 61. The story of her 
wrongs is given in Ann., xiv., 31. — Sumsere bellum. So Ann., ii., 45, and 
" prodium sumsere,'' 1 Hist., ii., 42. Compare the Greek TroXefiov fjpavTO 
( 'Thucyd., iii., 39). — Expugnatis prcesidiis. Camulodunum was taken and 
destroyed by fire. Londinium was also taken, and Verulamium soon after 
experienced a similar fate. In the^e places nearly seventy thousand Ro- 
mans and Roman allies were put to death with cruel tortures. — In barbaris. 
" Usual among barbarians." — Ira et victoria. " Anger and the license of 
victory." No hendiadys, as some imagine. 

Quod nisi Paidinus, &c. "Had not Paulinus, therefore," 6cc. — Veteri 
patientios. " To its ancient subjection." The forces of Suetonius amounted 
to only about ten thousand, while those of the Britons under Boadicea are 






Chv 



\tr.) AGRICOLA. 227 



■aid to L -c iieen two hundred and thirty thousand. About eighty thousand 
Britons a*-* saia to have fallen in the battle, and not more than four hundred 
Romans, rfoaaifcea would not survive this irreparable calamity, but put an 
end to her life fey poison. This victory finally established the Roman do- 
minion in Britain. (Ann., xiv., 31-37.) — Tenentibus arma plerisque. " Al- 
though many still retained arms," i. e., remained in arms. Compare note 
on plerique, chap. i. — Pr&pius agitabat. " Affected more nearly." 

Egregius. " Though exemplary." — Durius. " With too much severity. ' 
— Petronius- Turpilianus. Sent A.U.C. 815. He was put to death by Galba 
(Hist., i., 6, 37). From this time forward, Britain, as far as Anglesea, may 
be considered as under the Roman dominion. — Delictis hostium novus, &c. 
" New to the offences of the enemy, and on that account milder to their 
repentance," :. e., unacquainted personally with the excesses of which the 
foe had been guilty, and therefore the more disposed to treat them mildly 
on their repenting. Compare " novus dolori" (Sil. Ital., vi., 254) : "firmus 
adversis" (Agric, xxxv). — Compositis prioribus. "The previous disturb- 
ances having been allayed." — Trebellio Maximo provinciam tradidit. At 
what time is uncertain : probably in A.D. 64. Trebellius's flight took place 
in A.D. 69 (Hist., i., 60; ii., 55). — JYullis eccperimentis. For nulla experi- 
entia. — Comitate quadam curandi, &c. " Retained in subjection the prov- 
ince by a certain courtesy in governing." Curare is not unfrequently used 
by Sallust and Tacitus in the sense of " governing," " commanding," &c. 
Thus, " in ea parte curabat." (Sail., Jug., 60) : " Qui proconsul Asiam cur a- 
verat." (Ann., iv., 36.) 

Vitiis blandientibus. " Through the seductive influence of our vices," 
i. e., the seductive charms of luxury. Literally, " our vices coaxing (them 
into this state of feeling)." — Et interventus civilium armorum, &c. Namely, 
m order that the empire might not be harassed by foreign wars at the same 
Mme that it was torn by intestine convulsions. — Sed discordia labor atum. 
" Trouble, however, was occasioned by mutiny." — Lasciviret. " Began to 
crow insubordinate." — Indecorus atque humilis. " Dishonored and abased." 
— Precario. Consult notes on chap. xliv. of the Germania. — Prcefiiit. Scil. 
exercitui. — Ac velut pacti, &c. " And, as if they had stipulated, the army 
for unbridled freedom, the general for personal safety," &c. With pacti 
supply sunt. — Vettius Bolanus. Consult chap. viii. This governor arrived 
in Britain between April and May, A.D. 69. During his administration the 
circumstances happened which are recounted elsewhere by Tacitus (Hist., 
iii., 45). — Disciplina. " By any severity of discipline." — Petulantia castro- 
rum. "Insolence in the camp." — Et nullis delictis invisus, &c. "And,* 
hated for no crimes, had procured for himself affec^'on in lieu of authority," 
i. e., had made himself loved rather than feared. 

Chap. XVII. — Et Britanniam reciperavit. " Recovered Britain also," 
i. e., restored it to the benefits of a firm and wise administration of affairs 
it Rome. Vespasian placed the Roman world once more upon a firm basis, 
after it had been shaken to its centre by the civil contest between Otho and 



228 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XVIII, 

Vitellius. — Reciperavit. The earlier form of recuperavit. — Magni duces, 
egregii exercitus. " Our generals (in that island) were men of great abilities, 
our armies were excellent." — Petilius Cerealis. Already mentioned in chap 
viii. — Brigantum. The Brigantes inhabited what are now the counties of 
York, Westmoreland., Durham, and Lancaster. — Aut victoria amplexus, &c. 
Observe tha; victoria amplecti is "to subdue," but bello amplecti "to over- 
run." 

Et cum Cerealis quidem, &c. "And although Cerealis, indeed, might 
have obscured (by his own abilities) the administration and fame of another 
successor, yet Julius Frontinus also, a man of great talents, sustained the 
burden (of competition), as far as was permitted," i. e., the conduct and repu- 
tation of Cerealis were so brilliant that they might easily have eclipsed the 
splendor of a successor, and yet Julius Frontinus supported the arduous 
competition as far as circumstances would admit. (Compare Wex, ad loc.) 
Alter, although it is commonly synonymous with erepoc, sometimes stands 
for irepog tic, and is even occasionally, as here, equivalent to ulJkoc. The 
reason why Tacitus expressed himself on this occasion so cautiously may 
probably be owing to the fact that Frontinus was still alive. In Hist., iv., 
71 ; v, 21, he uses greater freedom. 

Quantum licebat. As far as was permitted by the times in which he lived, 
when to appear eminent was dangerous ; and it was dangerous, especially 
for the governor of so important a province, even in the time of Vespasian. 
Frontinus lived till A.D. 106, and was an augur at the time of his death. 
He was the author of a work upon the art of war (Stratagematica), and of 
another upon the Aqueducts of Rome, the superintendence of which was 
intrusted to him during the reigns of Nerva and Trajan. — Validamque et 
pugnacem, &c. Since the victories of Suetonius Paulinus, from about A.D. 
62 to 75, we hear nothing of the struggles with the Silures. But that the 
subjection of this wild mountain tribe had not yet been accomplished is 
shown not only by Frontinus's expedition, but by Agricola's enterprise 
against Mona. — Super. " Besides." 

Chap. XVIII. — Hunc Britannia statum, &c. " Found this condition ol 
Britain, these vicissitudes of warlike operations," i. e., found Britain in this 
state, as resulting from the fluctuating fortune of the contests which have 
just been mentioned. Vices here marks a result, not what was passing at 
the time. — Media jam (Estate. This was in A.D. 78. — Cum et miiites, &c. 
"When both our own soldiers, as if all onward movements had been given 
i over, were turning their attention to enjoyments free from care, and the 
enemy to the seizure of the opportunity thus offered them." Literally, 
" were turning themselves." Middle voice. — Ordovicum. The Ordovices 
inhabited the counties of Flint, Denbigh, Caernarvon, Merioneth, and Mont- 
gomery. — Alam in finibus suis agentem, &c. "Had destroyed, almost to a 
man, a troop of horse. acting within their confines." The ala was the body 
of cavalry belonging to a legion, in number generally about three hundred 
The period between the departur? cf Frontinus and the arrival of A^rncola, 



CHAP. XVIII.] AGRICOLA. 2%9 

when the island was without a governor, probably tfforc.ed the opportunity 
for this occurrence. 

Ut quibus helium volentibus erat. " Since a war was what they wished 
for." Compare the Greek idiom, of which this is an imitation, olg 7r6?.e/iog 
(3ov?^fievoic V v - (Kiikner, G. G., $ 599, 3, ed. Jelf.) The regular Latin 
form of expression would have been ut qui bellum volebant. — Probare ex- 
emplum, &c. That is, some did the one, some the other ; though all were 
for war. The infinitives here are historica.. — Numeri. " The various di- 
visions of the forces." The term numerus is here employed in its military 
sense, a meaning which appears to have come in during the reign of Au- 
gustus. It is well explained by Torrentius (ad Suet., Vesp., 6) : " Est mil- 
it are vocabulum, non solum pro catalogo seu fyreviculo militum, quam etiam 
matriculam vocant, sed pro ordinibus ipsis turmisque et cohortibus militum." 
Compare Botticher: "die Truppenabtheilungen." Walch renders it "die 
Cohorten" but this is too limited. — Tarda et contraria bellum inchoaturo. 
" Circumstances which delay and thwart one who is about to begin a war." 
Referring to what immediately precedes. — Custodiri suspecta. " That the 
suspected parts of the country should be watched merely," i. e., those parts 
where the inhabitants were suspected of an intention to throw off the Roman 
yoke. 

Contractisque legionum vexillis. ' ' And having drawn together the veterans 
of the legions." Vexillis is here put for vexillariis. From the time of Au- 
gustus, those veterans who had served sixteen campaigns were released 
from their military oath, but were retained, till their complete discharge, 
under a flag (vexillum) by themselves. They were free from all other mil- 
itary duties, except to render assistance in the more severe battles, to guard 
the frontiers of the empire, and to keep in subjection those provinces that 
had been newly conquered, and were,*therefore, more disposed to revolt. 
There were vexillarii attached to each legion, and it would appear that they 
amounted in number to five hundred. (Ann., iii., 21.) When there was 
any necessity, they were detached from their legions, and sometimes, as in 
the present instance, were all united into one body. 

In aquum. " Into the plain." — Erexit aciem. " Led his force in battle 
array up the mountain." — Instandwn fames. " That renown must be fol- 
lowed up." — Cessissent. " Should have turned out." For processissent. — 
Cujus possessions Observe the omission of the preposition a. — Ut in dubiis 
consiliis. " As in the case of plans the issue of which is doubtful." The 
meaning appears to be, that Agricola had had some intention of invading 
Mona previous to his campaign against the Ordovices ; but, as the result of 
that campaign was doubtful, he had not provided vessels ; and he had not 
had time to do so after the conquest of the Ordovices, when he had fully 
determined to invade the island. — Ratio et constantia, &c. " The ability and 
resolution of the general transported his forces across." Supply copias. — 
Auxiliarium. These must have been Britons, as appears from what im- 
mediately follows. — Et patrius nandi usus. "And the mode of swimming 
was the peculiar one of their f ountry." 






230 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XIX 

Qui ilassem, qui naves, &c. "Who expected a (Roman) fleet, who ex 
pected ships, who expected the (difficulties of the) sea," i. e., the difficulties 
which would be opposed to the progress of the Romans by the intervening 
straits. — Invictum. "Insuperable." — Officiorum ambitum. "The compli- 
ments of office," I. e.j efforts to procure the homage and flattery of the in- 
habitants. — Expeditionem aut victofiam, &c. " Call the having curbed those 
already conquered an expedition or a victory." — Ne laureatis quidem, &c. 
" He did not even follow up his victory with bay-decked dispatches." Sup 
ply litteris after laureatis. According to Roman usage, after any successful 
battle had been won, or a province subdued, the successful commander for- 
warded to Rome a dispatch decked with leaves of bay, this tree being re- 
garded by the Romans as the~peculiar emblem of victory. — JEstimantibus. 
" Men considering." Ablative absolute, and an imitation of a well-known 
Greek idiom. 

Chap. XIX.-^AmV/iorwm prudens. "Being well aware of the tone ot 
feeling." — Per aliena experimenta. " By the experience of others." More 
closely, "by the trials which others had made."— -Excidere. "To eradi- 
cate." — Domum suam. " His own household," i. e., his own suite (military 
family) and attendants. — Nihil publicce rei. " He transacted no public busi- 
ness." Supply agere, the historical infinitive.— Non milites adscire. " He 
promoted no recruits (to the ranks of the legion)." Tacitus is here speak- 
ing, not of levying soldiers, but of the promotion of recruits to the honor of 
serving in the legion, that is, of becoming regular soldiers. The term mil- 
ites, in its full force, belonged only to the legionary troops. The tironcs 
thought much of the honor of serving in the legion, and frequently endeavored 
to obtain it through private favor, or on the recommendation of the centu- 
rions. — Exsequi. Equivalent here to punire, a. meaning deduced naturally 
enough from the literal signification of " to follow out." 

Commodare. " He applied." There is no need of regarding this as an in- 
stance of zeugma, with Walch and others. The meaning we have here given 
to the verb, and which is closely allied to its literal one, will suit equally 
well both veniam and severitatem. — Frumenti et tributorum, &c. " He mit- 
igated the increase of the supply of corn and of the taxes by an equalizing of 
burdens," i. e., he took care that all the inhabitants should be rated fairly, 
according to their property ; so that the poor might not have to contribute 
more than the rich. Munus is the amount at which each one was assessed. 
In the term tributa Tacitus refers to poll-taxes and taxes upon property 
These were increased, and in some cases doubled by Vespasian. — Circum 
cisis. " All those exactions having been abolished." — In quastum reperta. 
" Devised for private gain." The meaning is, that Agricola put an end to 
all those devices for enriching themselves, which had been practiced by the 
inferior officers of government, and were esteemed heavier burdens than the 
taxes themselves. 

Namque per ludibrium, &c. " For they were compelled, in mockery, to 
sit by the closed granaries, and to buy, besides, their own corn, and to sell 



CHAP. 



XX.] AGRICOLA. 231 



it out again at a (small) fixed price." From the provinces, at least during 
the time of the republic, and from Sicily, the Romans procured corn in 
three different ways ; namely, by means of the fmmentum decumanum, 
emtum, and cestimatum. The frumentum decumanum was the tenth part of 
the produce of the ager publicus or decumanus. It was exacted from the cul- 
tivators without payment, and had k oe carried down to the sea, but was gen- 
erally purchased or contracted for by the revenue -farmers, who weie thence 
called decumani, and who either sent it to Rome or sold it in the provinces. 
The emtum frumentum was corn which was furnished in compliance with 
the orders of the proconsul, to supply the wants of the armies or of the cap- 
ital, and for which a fixed price was paid, at first from the public treasury, 
and afterward from that of the emperor. When the governor of the province 
was in league with the decumani, the latter, by means of such edicts as 
those mentioned by Cicero (in Verr., ii., 3, 13), got all the corn in the coun- 
try into their power, as in the case of the Britons alluded to in the text, who 
were compelled to purchase it back from the Romans at a high price, both 
for their own consumption, and in order to furnish the emtum frumentum, 
for which they were paid only the small fixed price. — Ultro. Compare the 
explanation of Wex : " noch obendrein, noch dazu ;" and consult Botticher, 
Lex. Tac, s. v, 

Devortia itinerum, &c. " By-roads and distant parts of the country were 
appointed," i. e., as the quarters unto which the corn was to be carried. 
Tacitus here refers to the frumentum cestimatum, as it was termed. The 
provincial magistrates had money given them from the treasury, or from the 
emperor's purse, for the purpose of buying corn for their own use, at a val- 
uation fixed by the senate, and this corn was to be carried to whatever place 
they chose. They might either exact the corn, or else a certain sum for 
that and for the expense of its conveyance. Now, corrupt and fraudulent 
magistrates always appointed some place at a great distance, and aw T ay from 
the common route, unto which the corn was to be conveyed, and then com- 
muted in money with the farmer, at a heavy loss to the latter and a great 
profit to themselves. (Ascon. in Verr., 29.) — Deferrent. Supply frumenta. 
— Quod omnibus inpromtu erat. "What offered itself in abundance to all.' 
— Paucis. The governor of the province and his officials. 

Chap. XX. — Hcbc comprimendo. "By suppressing these abuses."-- 
Egregiam famam pad circumdedit. " He threw around peace an excellent 
reputation," i. e., he established a very favorable idea of peace. Compare 
the Greek idiom, TrepircdevaL tlvi arijiiav {Thucyd., vi., 89). — Quae. The 
antecedent is pax. The Britons were despoiled and oppressed in peace 
just as much as ii war, and therefore the former was no less dreaded than 
the latter. — Tolerantia. " Connivance." More literally, " sufferance," i. e. % 
suffering oppression to be exercised, and secretly sharing in the spoils. We 
have given here tolerantia, the emendation of Rhenanus, as far superior to 
mtolerantia ("oppression"), the MS. reading. 

Sed ubi astas advenit. During this summer Agricola sterns to rave pen 



232 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXI. 

etrated to tne Solway Firth. That he did not proceed farther appears from 
;he subsequent chapters. In chapter xxii., the expression Tertius expedite 
ionum annus novas gentes aperuit would hardly have been used if he had 
already penetrated as far as Edinburgh, as some imagine, in the second sum 
mer. It was the western portion of the Brigantes whom he now subdued, 
and, accordingly, the conquests of Cerealis lay in the eastern part of their 
country. They were only partially subdued by the latter (chap, xvii.) ; and 
his successor, Frontinus, seems not to have completed his undertakings. — 
Militum in agmine, &c. Some editors read multum, others multus. Both 
of these, however, are too abrupt here, though multus is better, in point of 
Latinity, than multum. — Disjectos coercere. "He restrained the strag- 
glers.' 

Loca castris ipse caper e. Many traces of these encampments still remain ; 
two in particular, situated in Annandale, called Burnswork and Middleby, 
are described by Gordon (Itin. Sept., p. 16, 18). — JBstuaria. The term 
cestuarium is used to denote the wide mouths of rivers, which are fordable 
or very shallow at low water, but resemble arms of the sea at high tide. 
Such, on the western coast, are those of the Dee, the Mersey, the Ribble, 
Morecambe Bay, and Solway Firth. — Quo minus popularetur. "But rav- 
aged." Literally, "as that he should not ravage ." — Irritamenta pads. 
" The incentives to peace." — Ex cequo egerant. " Had acted on an equali 
ty (with the Romans)," i. e., had maintained their ground, and preserved 
their independence against the encroachments of the Roman power. 

Et prcBsidiis castellisque circumdatce, &c. " And were surrounded with 
garrisons and forts, (disposed) with so much judgment and care, that no part 
of Britain, new (to us) before, could fall away without being (at the instant) 
attacked," i. e., could pass over to the foe unhindered. Transient for trans- 
ire potuerit. The true reading and meaning of this passage are extremely 
doubtful. We have given the explanation of Walther as the most satisfac 
tory. 

Chap. XXI. — Sequens hiems. This was in A.D. 78-80. — Saluberrimis 
consiliis. " In most wholesome measures." — In bella faciles. " Prone to 
war." — Ut templa, for a, domus exstruerent. Julius's hoff, or house (the 
house of Julius Agricola), and Arthur's oven, in Stirling, near the mouth 
of the Carron, are said to have been built under the direction of Agrico ja. 
As we soon afterward fmd Eboracum an important city, the residence of 
the British governor, and sometimes of the emperor himself, it is not un 
utfely that Agricola founded the city about this same time, in the country 
of the Brigantes, to promote the civilization of this wild tribe. — Ita honoris 
asmulatio, &c. ■' In this way an honorable rivalry supplied the place of com- 
pulsion," i. e., in this way he excited a spirit of honorable rivalry, which had 
all the force of compulsion. 

Jam vero principum, &c. The same line of policy was pursued by Au 
gustus (Suet., Aug., 48) and by other Roman emperors (Ann., ii., 2 ; xi., 16) 
Perhaps Agricola established schools, as Caligula did in Gaul and Belgium 



CHAP. XXII., XXIII.] AGRICOLA. 233 

— Et ingenia Britannorum, &c. "And he gave th*s preference to the nat- 
ural talents of the Britons over the laborious efforts exerted by the Gauls," 
i. e.j over the mere learning of the Gauls. Some suppose that anteferre here 
means " to cause to excel/' but without any necessity. Gauls frequently 
found their way to Britain, and ingratiated themselves with the princes of 
that country, to the exclusion of the more talented but less cultivated na- 
tives. — Ut. " So that." — Eloquentiam concupiscerent. " Began now to de- 
sire its eloquence," i. e., were now ambitious of becoming eloquent in it. 
In their communications with the governor, and in judicial proceedings, the 
Britons would be required to use the Latin tongue. — Habitus nostri honor, 
" Our mode of dress began to be held in honor." Supply erat. — Delinimenta 
vitiorum. "The blandishments of vicious pleasures " — Humanitas. "Re- 
finement." — Cum. "When, in reality." 

Chap. XXII. — Tertius annus. The time meant is A.D. 80. — Novas 
gentes. Those, namely, between the Solway Firth and the Firth of Tay, 
in Annandale, Clydesdale, Tweeddale, Berwick, Lothian, Stirling, Men- 
teith, Perth, and Fife, through which ran a Roman road. — Taum. The 
Taus was not the Tweed, which does not form an estuary, but the Tay. 
Cereal is had before this penetrated to the Tweed. — Quamquam conflictatum. 
" Though having to struggle with." — Castellis. The remains of some of 
these are still to be seen between Ardoch and Innerpeffery. The principal 
one was at Ardoch, and so situated as to command the entrance into two 
valleys, Strathallen and Strathern, thus illustrating the remark made im- 
mediately after this by Tacitus, respecting the skill displayed by Agricola 
in choosing advantageous situations for his forts. — Aut pactione ac fuga de- 
sertum. "Or was abandoned through capitulation and flight." 

Annuls copiis. " By supplies of provisions for a whole year." Some, less 
correctly, refer this to supplies of fresh troops. — Intrepida. " Passed witn- 
out alarm." Supply erat. — Irritis. "Being baffled." — Pensare. "TomaKe 
up for." The simple verb for the compound compensare. — Juwta pellebantur. 
" They were alike pressed hard." — Per alios gesta, &c. " Greedily inter- 
cept (the glory of) things achieved by others," i. e., with a greedy desire of 
distinction. Avidus has here, by a poetic usage, the force of an adverb. 
(Zumpt, § 682.) — Incorruptum facti, &c. "He had (in Agricola) an im 
partial witness of what was done," i. e., of his achievement. — Acerbior in 
conviciis. " Somewhat harsh in his reproaches," i. e., in reproof, when re- 
proving any one. — Injucundus. " Austere." — Secretum et silentium ejus. 
"His reserve and silence," i. e., his reserved and silent manner. — Odisse. 
" To cherish secret hatred." 

Chap. XXIII. — Quarta cestas. A.D. 81. — Obtinendis qucB percurrerat. 
" In securing the country which 'ae had overrun." Supply loca. Observe 
that obtineo is used here in its common signification of "to hold against 
another," " to secure the possession of," &c. Compare the remark of Gro- 
novius : " Obtinere est per sever are in tenendo ; quod Galli dicunt maintenir,' 



234 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXIV 

£t is used in a different sense, however, in Ann., xv., 8 : " Percursando qua 
ebtineri non poterant." — Pateretur. u Had allowed." — Inventus. Supply 
fuisset. — Terminus. " A limit (to our conquests)." This limit would have 
been found in that part of the island described immediately after as lying to 
lhe south of the Firths of Clyde and Forth. Here ancient Britannia ended 
and Caledonia began. It was in this same quarter that the rampart of An- 
toninus was subsequently erected by Lollius Urbicus, the imperial legate. 

Clota et Bodotria, &c. " The estuaries of Clota and Bodotria, carried 
back deep into the land by the tides of opposite seas," &c. The reference 
is, as already remarked, to the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. — Re- 
vectce. Observe that re has not unfrequently the force here assigned it in 
composition; as in repostus, "placed far back." Compare, also, Horace's 
reducta vallis (JEpod., ii., 11). 

Atque omnis propior sinus tenebatur. " And the whole bend of the coast, 
in the more immediate neighborhood (of the isthmus), was (likewise) oc- 
cupied (with forts)." As regards the force of sinus here, consult notes on 
chap. i. of the Germania. The chain of forts across the isthmus was suffi- 
cient to prevent any irruption of the enemy by land; while, to check their 
attempts by sea, in which way the Picts made their incursions in later times, 
Agricola had fortresses built east and west in the adjacent region, which 
were united with the main chain. It is this adjacent region, to the east and 
.vest of the isthmus, that Tacitus means to indicate by the expression li pro~ 
pior sinus." The work now called Graham's Dycke was erected by Lol- 
lius under the Antonines, but coincided with Agricola's line, which ran from 
Old Kirk-Patrick on the Firth of Clyde, to Abercorn on the Firth of Forth. 

Chap. XXIV. — Quinto anno. A.D. 82. — Nave prima transgressus. 
" Having crossed over in the first ship," i. e., having crossed the estuary of 
the Clota {Clyde) in the first Roman fleet that had ventured narrowly to ex- 
amine this part of the coast. Agricola might have marched his forces through 
the isthmus without having recourse to ships, but probably the appearance 
of a fleet would be more calculated to strike terror into the nations along 
the coast. — Eamque partem Britannia, &c. The reference is to Carrick, 
Galloway, Wight, and perhaps also to Argyle, Annan, and Bute. — Copiis. 
"With troops." — In spem, &c. More because Agricola hoped at some fu- 
ture time to achieve the conquest of Ireland, than because he dreaded any 
interruption from that quarter. — Medio inter Britanniam, &c. Compare 
chap. x. — Opportuna. "Lying commodiously." — Valentissimam imperii 
partem, &c. " Might unite the most powerful portion of our empire by 
great mutual advantages," i. e., might form a very beneficial connection be- 
tween the most powerful parts of our empire, namely, Britain, Gaul, and 
Spain, by means of commercial transactions, and an interchange of their re- 
spective products. — Miscuerit. In Greek we should have had av with the 
optative. 

Nostri maris. The Mediterranean. — lngenia cultusque. " The intellec* 
aal character and the usages." — Aditus. "The approaches to its coasts.* 



JHAP. XXV.J AGRICOLA. 235 

A great deal of upnecessary trouble has been taken by commentators with 
the sentence of which this word forms part. Melius does not mean M better 
(than those of Britain)," but " better (than the soil, climate, &c.)," which 
re alluded to vaguely, and without any precision, in the words " hand muU 
turn differunt." Compare Ritter, ad loc. — Unum ex regulis. "One of the 
petty kings." — Scepe ex eo audivi. Some take eo to mean this petty king, 
and accordingly conclude that Tacitus was at this time in Britain. But 
there can be little doubt that it refers to Agricola. — Arma. Supply essent. 

Chap. XXV. — ^Estate, qua sextum, &c. This was in A.D. 83. — Officii. 
" Of his government." — Amplexus. " Having embraced (in his plans)." 
The fuller and more Augustan form of expression would have been ad sub- 
igendum animo et cogitatione complexus. — Civitates trans Bodotriam sitas. 
The reference is to the eastern parts of Scotland, north of the Firth of Forth, 
where are now the counties of Fife, Kinross, Perth, Angus, &c. — Infesta. 
" Infested by." Taken in a passive sense. A much inferior reading is 
infesta hostilis exercitus, where infesta itinera must be rendered " hostile in- 
roads," and infesta taken actively. — Portus classe exploravit. Agricola's 
plan was apparently this, that the fleet should support the army, which 
probably kept near the coast ; and, in case the latter met with too powerful 
an opposition at any of the passes, should land troops in the rear of the enemy. 

In partem tritium. " As a part of his forces." Virium is here equivalent 
to copiarum. — Egregia specie. "With imposing display." — Impeller etur, 
" Was urged on." — Mixti copiis et laetitia. " Mingled together in forces and 
in joy," i. e., mingled together in joyous groups. We have followed in this 
explanation some of the best editors. Others, however, refer copiis to the 
^'amp-stores of provisions ; but this is far less natural. — Attollerent. In the 
sense of extollerent. — Adversa. " The hardships." — Victus oceanus. W r e 
have adopted here the emendation of Lipsius. The common reading is 
auctus oceanus, " the ocean swelled by tempests." But victus oceanus is far 
more spirited, and is also more in unison with militari jactantia immediately 
following. Compare, also, " domitus oceanus" (Suet., Claud., 17), and 
u spolia oceani" (Suet., Cal., 46). 

Secreto. " The secret retreat." — Ad manus et arma. u To action and to 
"ins." — Par&'u magno, majore fama, &c. "With great preparation, with 
the still greater fame (as is usual with reports concerning what is unknown) 
that they had commenced hostilities." The infinitive oppugnasse depends 
on fama, as Walch correctly remarks ; and, according to this same com- 
mentator, the meaning of the passage is the same as if Tacitus had written 
Magisque id fama celebrante " en oppugnarunt Britanni idtro Romana cas~ 
tclla." — Castella. Some forts in Fife, Perth, and Strathern, the remains of 
which still exist ; manifestly, from what follows, not the line of fortifications 
between the Firths of Clyde and Forth. — Specie prudentium. "With the 
air of prudent advisers," i. e., under the mask of prudence. — Hostes pluribus 
agminibus irrupturos. " That the enemy intended to bear down upon hira 
in several bodies " — Et ipse. " He himself also." 



236 NOTES ON THE [CH. XXVI.-XXVJII. 

Chap. XXVI. — Universi nonam legionem, &c. Brotier, following Gordon 
(It. Sept., p. 32), places the scene of this occurrence in Fife, where the re- 
mains of a Roman camp are found at Lochore. We must not suppose, how- 
ever, that all the remains of Roman intrench ments in this part of the coun- 
try are to be referred to the time of Agricola ; many were built under the 
Antonines and Severus. After a careful examination of the whole subject, 
Walch comes to the conclusion that the ninth legion, which the enemy, 
altering their plan, fell upon with their whole force, must have been posted 
farther northward than Fife, in Angus, or perhaps Mar. If Agricola had 
been in the district of Fife, which is hardly eight miles broad, he would 
probably have immediately sought the enemy at the entrenchments. 

Assultare. " To charge." — Propinqua luce, "At daybreak."-— Ancipiti 
malo. The battle in front and rear. — Securi pro salute, &c. " At ease re- 
specting their safety, they (now) vied with each other for glory." Observe 
here the force of the preposition de, and compare the explanation of Walther : 
" Illi de gloria certabant non pro gloria, i. e., ad gloriam parandam, non ut par- 
atam tuerentur." — Erupere. This refers to the Romans in the encamp- 
ment, who, not content with holding their ground, now rushed forth and 
drove back their assailants, who were received in the rear by the forces of 
Agricola that were now near the gates. — Utroque exercitu. The ninth legion 
in the camp, and the troops that had come to their aid. — Debellatum foret. 
' l The war would have been ended." 

Chap. XXVII. — Cujus constantia, &c. " The army elated by the in- 
uepidity and fame of this achievement." Observe that cujus refers back to 
victoria in the previous chapter. Lipsius reads conscientia for constantia, on 
conjecture (a reading afterward actually found in one of the MSS.\ and 
which Ernesti, Dronke, and others have adopted. This, however, as Wal- 
ther correctly remarks, wants spirit. — Invium. "Inaccessible." — Con- 
tinuo cursu. li By one continued career." — Modo cauti, &c. Consult 
chap. xxv. 

At Britanni, &c. " The Britons, however, thinking (that it had been 
brought about) not by valor, but (merely) by a fortunate concurrence of cir- 
cumstances, and by the skill of the (Roman) commander." After rati supply 
evenisse. Commentators generally think that there is something corrupt in 
this sentence, and propose various corrections. There is no need, how- 
ever, of any alteration. The passage is merely an elliptical one, in full ac- 
cordance with the wonted conciseness of Tacitus. — Quo minus armarent. 
" But armed." More literally, " so as not to arm." — Atque ita irritatis, &c. 
" And thus the parties separated w r ith embittered feelings on both sides." 

Chap. XXVIII. — Cohors Usipiorum. Compare chap, xxxii. of the Ger 
mania. This cohort was probably a part of the forces stationed by Agricola 
in what is now Kintyre, Carrick, and Galloway. It would appear from Dio 
Cassius (lxvi., 20), that the course of their circumnavigation was from west 
to east, that is, thev set out from the western side of the island, and coast- 



CHAP. XXIX. J AGRICOLA. 287 

in^ along all that part of Scotland, abounding in intricate and dangerous 
navigation, passed round by the north. — Magnum ac memorabile f acinus 
" A daring and memorable enterprise." 

Exemplum et rector es habebantur. " Served as a pattern, and (at the same 
tim6) as controllers of their conduct." — Liburnicas. Supply naves, and 
compare notes on chap. ix. of the Germania. — Adactis. " Having been com- 
pelled to go on board." — Et uno remigrante. " And one (of the three pilots) 
escaping." Literally, " going back." One of the MSS. has rernigante, 
which Lallemand, Oberlin, and some others adopt ; but this, as Walch re- 
marks, is neither Latin nor sense. The Latin idiom requires gubernante, 
since we say of a pilot, navem gubernare, not remigare ; and then, again, the 
words uno remigante stand in almost direct contradiction to amissis per in- 
scitiam regendi navibus. — Rumore. " The report of the affair," i. e., of their 
mutiny and flight. — Ut miraculum prcevehebantur. " They were carried 
along (the coast) as a kind of prodigy." Observe that prcevehebantur is 
equivalent here to prcetervehebantur. The inhabitants of the islands and 
shores on the west of Britain, along which the Usipii sailed, were astonished 
at the wonderful sight, and regarded it in the light of a prodigy. 

Eo inopice. " To that degree of want." — Infirmissimos. Strict classical 
usage would require the ablative with vescerentur. Compare Zumpt, § 466. 
— Max sorte ductos. " And then upon those drawn by lot." — Atque ita cir- 
cumvecti, &c. After they had reached the northern extremity of Scotland, 
ehey passed through the Pentland Firth toward the east, sustaining new 
encounters with the inhabitants of Caithness, Sutherland, Murray, Buchan, 
&c. bio mentions that they nearly lighted upon the Roman camp. — Suevis. 
We must suppose that, either when attempting to reach their native coun- 
try by land, after having arrived on the German coast, or when endeavoring 
to work their way round on the wTecks of their vessels, they were intercepted 
by some Suevi, and these, in turn, were captured by some Frisian pirates. — 
In nostram ripam. The left bank of the Rhine is meant. — Indicium tanti 
casus ilhtstravit. " The proof (thus afforded") of so extraordinary an adven- 
ture made objects of notoriety." 

Chap. XXIX.— Initio cestatis. This was the commencement of a new 
summer, A.D. 84. The expression eadem (Estate (chap, xxviii.) shows that 
Tacitus had finished his regular account of Agricola's proceedings during 
the previous year, and that the narrative of the adventures of the Usipii is 
to be looked upon as a kind of supplement. Some editors, however, supply 
septimce here, which, when abbreviated into vii., might be absorbed by the 
letters VIT at the close of the last chapter. — Neque ambitiose tulit. " He 
neither endured with an ostentatious firmness," i. e., he did not affect a 
stoical indifference in order to excite the admiration of others. — Rursus. 
" On the other hand." — Et in luitu. Observe that et has here the force of 
sed. (Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 178.) 

Quas. "In order that it." Equivalent to ut ea, and hence followed by 
\he subjunctive. — Magnuir et incertum terrorem. "An extensive and du- 



238 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXX, 

bious alarm." That is, the fleet would touch at many and various points 
and the foe would thus be left in uncertainty as to each successive place of 
attack. — Exploratos. " Those who had been tried," i. e., whose allegiance 
had been tested. — Montem Grampium. In the ancient Scottish tongue this 
ridge was called Grantzbain, now the Grampian Hills. — Fracti. " Dis 
pirited." — Cruda ac viridis senectus. " A hale and vigorous old age." Com 
pare Virg., JEn., vi., 304. — Sua decora. "Their honorary distinctions,' 
i. e., the trophies won from enemies, not, as Ernesti thinks, the rewards 
they had received for their valor. — Calgacus. The more correct form of 
the name, as restored from MSS. The common text has Galgacus. 

Chap. XXX. — Causas belli et necessitatem nostram. " The causes of the 
war and our present necessity," i. e., the motives that necessarily impel us 
*o war. — Magnus animus. " A strong persuasion." — Expertes. "Free as 
yet." Supply sumus. — Prcelium atque arma. " Battle and arms." By no 
means synonymous, as some suppose. Prcelium marks the beginning of 
me conflict, and arma the maintaining of it gallantly by arms and prowess 
— Priores pugnce. In which Calgacus and his followers had taken no part 
In ordinary prose the whole sentence would have run thus : " Priorum pug 
narum spes sita est in nostris manibus," and the general idea is this : In all 
the battles which have hitherto been fought against the Romans, our coun 
trymen may be deemed to have reposed their final hopes and security in us. 
— Nobilissimi. The Caledonians looked upon themselves as an indigenous; 
race, and therefore styled themselves the noblest sons of Britain. Com- 
pare Ccesar, B. G.j vi., 12 : " Interior pars ab Us colitur, quos natos in insula 
ipsa memories proditur." — In ipsis penetralibus. " In its very inmost recess 
es." As in the penetralia of a dwelling all that was most valued was pre 
served, so here, in the very heart of Britain, in the very sanctuary, as il 
were, of the land, dwelt the noblest and bravest of her sons. 

Recessus ipse ac sinus fames, &c. " Our very remoteness, and the boson? 
of fame have, up to this day, defended." The expression sinus fames is a 
poetical one, and means that the Caledonians are the cherished ones of 
Fame, whom she is rearing for future distinction. They have been hitherto 
in sinu fames conditi, that is, screened from observation by the nursing bosom 
of Fame, until the day of maturity and glory, now near at hand, shall have 
arrived. Various other explanations have been given of this passage, but 
they are all unsatisfactory.— Nunc terminus Britannice patet, &c. The first 
part of the sentence, terminus Britannice patet, gives the reason why their 
remoteness of situation will no longer defend them ; and the latter part, 
omne ignotum pro magnifico est, shows in like manner why their former fame 
will no longer preserve them from aggression ; for the Romans, who, when 
at a distance, magnified their strength, from knowing little concerning it> 
will, now that they are near, conceive a less formidable opinion concerning it 

Sed nulla jam ultra gens, &c. The connecting idea between this and th« 
previous sentence is purposely suppressed by the writer, from motives of 
brevity, and must be supplied by the reader: "Some one here may say 



CHAP. XXXI.] AGRICOLA. 23P 

' Let us then ask the aid of other nations ;' b at there is now no nation be 
yond us." — Et infestiores Romani. "And (on the other side are) the Ro 
mans, more hostile (even than these)," i. e., even than the waves and rocks 
— Raptores. "The plunderers." — Et mare. "The ocean also." — Ope* 
atque inopiam. "Wealth and indigence," i. e., wealthy and indigent com- 
munities. Equivalent to opulentos atque inopes. — Imperium. "Empire." 

Chap. XXXI. — Hi per delectus, &c. Britons are traced in Illyricum. 
Gaul, Spain, and elsewhere. So we find Sigambri in Thrace {Ann., iv., 47), 
and Ligurians in Numidia (Sail., Jug., 100). — Bona fortunasque in tributum 
egerunt, &c. " They consume our goods and property in taxes, the produce 
of year after year in contributions of corn." We must not confound egerunt 
here (from egero) with egerunt (from ago), as some have very strangely done. 
As regards the force of egerunt here, compare Quintil., Declam., v., 17: 
" Census in exsequias egerere," and consult Walch, ad loc. — Annas. Em- 
ployed here for proventus annorum. — Silvis ac paludibus emuniendis. "In 
making roads through woods and over marshes." Munire is used properly 
when a piece of work is performed by a number of persons, to each of whom 
a portion is allotted. The root is the same as in munus, " a task." Hence 
munire viam is not " to fortify a road," but simply " to make one." — Verbera 
inter ac contumelias. Observe the anastrophe of the preposition here, aftei 
the manner of the poets, an arrangement admitted also, though less fre 
quently, by other writers besides Tacitus, but chiefly, like him, of the silver 
age. So we have " insulam inter Germanosque" (Hist., v., 19) : " ripam ad 
Euphratis" (Ann., vi., 37) : " hostem propter" (Ann., iv., 48). 

Britannia servitutem suam, &c. Namely, by paying tribute, and supply 
ing the Roman armies with food. Pascere is properly used with reference 
to cattle. — Et conservis. Observe that et has here the force of etiam, which 
some give as a reading. — In hoc orbis terrarum vetere famulatu. "In this 
old slave-service of the world," i. e., amid the troop of nations subjected from 
of old to the Roman power. — Novi nos et viles. Equivalent to nos tamquant 
novi et viles. — Quibus exercendis reservemur. "For bestowing our labors 
upon which we may be reserved." We have given exercendis here a genera/ 
signification, which suits equally well all three nouns that precede. In 
strictness, however, there is a zeugma in the term, since exercendis properly 
applies only to arva and metalla, "the working of fields and mines," while 
in connection with portus it refers to the collection of customs and port- 
duties for the benefit of others. 

Brigantes, femina duce, &c. Cambden substituted Trinobantes here foi 
Brigantes, from Dio Cassius (lxii., 1), and Ann., xiv., 31 ; and in this he 
has been followed by several editors. But the alteration is unnecessary 
The insurrection of the Britons against Suetonius Paulinus began with the 
Iceni, and their queen Boadicea. With the Iceni were united the Trino- 
bantes, et qui alii, nondum servitio fracti, resumere libertatem occultis conjura 
tionibus pepigerant (Ann., xiv., 31). By these we can not well understand 
the Silures, in whose territory Suetonius was posted ; and accordingly wt 



240 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XXIII. 

must loo t to the northern tribes above the Iceni. The wide extent of the 
Brigantes, the loose connection of some of the tribes with their queen, Car 
tismandua, and their fondness for warlike adventures, render it not unlikely 
that some of the southern divisions of this race took part in the insurrection 
of their neighbors. 

Et libe totem non in praesentia laturi. "And who have not now, for the 
first time, to win our freedom." The words libertatem laturi are to be ex- 
plained in the sense of carrying off a prize. Compare u plus fiagitii et per 
iculi laturos" (Ann.., vi., 34), and olcrofievot dotjav (Thuc.yd., ii., 12). — Non 
cstendamus. The employment of non for nonne is not unfrequent. Compare 
Cic. in Verr., iv., 7 : " Quis vestrum igitur nescit, quanti haze cestimentar ? 
In auctione signum ceneum non magnum HS. CXX. millibus venire non vid- 
imus .?" and Virg., 2En., ix., 144 : " At nonviderunt moznia Trojce, Nepiuni 
fabricata manu, consider e in ignes ?" — Seposuerit. " Has reserved (for her 
defence)." 

Chap. XXXII. — Lasciviam. "Dissoluteness." — Vitia. "The faults." 
— Diversissimis gentibus. As, for example, the Britanni, Batavi, Tungri, 
Galli, Itali, &c. Compare chapters xiii., and xxxvi. — Nisi si. Consult note 
en " nisi si patria sit" chap. ii. of the Germania. — -Pudet dictu. Instead of 
pudet dicer e. — Licet dominationi alienee, &c. " Although they afford their 
blood unto a foreign dominion, yet for a longer period its foes than its sub 
jects," i. e., although they are now shedding their blood in support of a for- 
eign yoke, &c. Observe that commodare has here its proper signification, 
namely, "in gratiam alicujus aliquid prcebere" and consult Botticher, Lex. 
Tac, s. v. — Metus et terror est, &c. " It is fear and terror (that retains them), 
feeble bonds of attachment," i. e., that retains them in loyalty and affection 
(fide et affectu tenet). 

Aut nulla plerisque patria, aut alia est. " Most of them have either no 
country, or else a different one from this," i. e., one far away. The mean- 
ing is as follows : the greater part are either the betrayers of their country, 
as the Britanni ; or are fighting in a foreign land, as the Batavi, Tungri., 
Galli, &c. — Circum trepidos ignorantia^ Some editors take circum trepidos 
\ ere to be equivalent to circum trcpidantes, or trepide circum vagantes, while 
others strike out circum. But this last would be equivalent to saying, qui 
non solum omnino trepidi sunt ignorantia, verum etiam ignorant, qua in ccelo, 
&c, appareant. Most probably some such word as locorum, viarum, or regi- 
onum has been lost before circum, and circum must then be taken as in Ann. 9 
xii., 55 : " Duri circum loci." The words may then be translated, " dis- 
mayed through their ignorance of the surrounding country." 

Nostras manus. " Our own bands,' ; i. e., numbers ready to unite with us. 
He alludes not merely to the Britons but to the Gauls also, and the Ger- 
mans. — Tamquam nuper Usipii, &c. Compare chap, xxviii. — Senum colo* 
nice. Only one colony is, in fact, mean:. Consult note on " trucidati vet' 
erani, incensce colonice," chap. v. — jffigra et discordantia. " Disaffected and 
distracted." — Hie dux, hie exercitus. " Here there is a leader, here an armv." 



CHAP. XXXIII.J AGRICOLA. 241 

i c , here on >ur side. Ibi, in the next clause, means on the side of the 
Romans, where tributes, working in mines, &c, await the Britons if van- 
quished. Compare Wex: " Hie exercitus estis cum duce ; hinc sifugcritis, 
servi eritis, ad poenas damnati et nullo in numero habiti." — In hoc campo e*t 
* Depends upon this field," t. e., upon your exertions in the coming fight. 

Chap. XXXIII. — Excepere orationem. " They received this harangue. 
The verb excipere is used in the same manner by Livy (xxiv., 31) : " Except 
us clamor ab aliis." Compare also Ann., ii., 38 : " Hcec plures per silentium 
aut occultum murmur excepere.'''' — Et barbari moris. " And, as is the custom 
of barbarians." Supply ut est. Some editions have ut barbari moris, but 
this can only refer back to alacres, and such a general assertion, as Ritter 
remarks, would be untrue, since in some cases the harangue of a leader 
would be listened to with dejected feelings. — Jamque agmina. Supply ap 
parebant. — Audentissimi cujusque procursu. " Through the hurrying to the 
front on the part of each most daring one." This assigns the reason why 
the armorum fulgores were seen, and there ought, therefore, as Walch re- 
marks, to be a comma after agmina. — Instruebatur acies. " The army (of 
the Caledonians) was being drawn up in line." — Coercitum. " Capable of 
oeing restrained." This has here the i- orce of an adjective in His. So, 
" Genus mobile, infidum, neque leneficio neque metu coercitum." (Sail., 
Jug., 91.) 

Militem adhortatus. This perfect participle is in meaning equivalent to a 
present participle. Compare Hist., ii., 96, " insectatus," Ann., i., 40, " corn- 
plexus,' 1 '' &c. Grammarians call this ur age the employing of the perfect 
participle aopiaroc, or indefinitely. — Octavus annus esa>. .t was, in fact, 
only the seventh summer since he had arrived m Britaii- But he probably 
includes the year 77, in which he was appointed governor, though he did not 
arrive in Britain till A.D. 78. It is possible, however, that octavus (viii.) 
may be a mistake of the copyist for septimus (vk. \ — Virtute et auspiciis ir,i» 
perii Romani" &c. " Through the energy and auspices of the Roman em 
pire, you have by your fidelity and perseverance been conquering Britain." 

Veterum legatorum. For priorum legatorum. — Terminos. Governed by 
egressi. — Non fama nee rumore. " Not by widely disseminated accounts 
nor by mere uncertain rumor." For the distinction between fama and ru 
mor, consult Doederlein, Eat. Syn., v., p. 233. — Et vota virtusque in aperto. 
" And your wishes and your valor have now free scope." — Silvas evasisse. 
•' The having made our way through forests." — Pulchrum ac decorum infron- 
tern. " Is glorious and full of honor to an army marching against the foe." 
Frons is here equivalent to " acies, quce adversus hostem progreditur" (Veget., 
iii., 14) ; and pulchrum infrontem is for pulchrum fronti. The common form 
of expression in Latin is pulchrum, jucundum, gratum mihi, but Tacitus 
uses "grata in vulgus" (Ann., ii., 59). So other writers say, "dissimilis 
alicui" but Tacitus has " haud dissimili in dominum" (Ann., ii., 39). 

Jam pridem mihi decretum est. " I have long since come to the conclu- 
i ton," i. e., it has long been a principle of action with me. — Neque exercitus, 

L 






242 NOTES ON THE [cH. XXXIV. ; XXX*. 

neque ducis terga tuta esse. Compare Xen., Cyrop., i., 3 : Mupbv yap ri 
Kparelv Qov'kofievovg tcl rvfaet, tov oufiaroc, teal aoit'ka, kcu axeipa 9 
ravra hvavria t&ttelv tolq 'KoXefiiotg (pevyovrag. 

Chap. XXXIV. — Constitisset. "Had been standing in array (against 
you)," i. e. f were now standing. — Nunc. "As matters now are, however." 
— Decora. " The military honors you have won." — Furto noctis. " Under 
the stealthy covering of the night." — Clamore. " By a mere shout." — Ii ce 
terorum Britannorumfugacissimi. " These, in respect of the rest of the Brit- 
ons, the greatest fugitives of all." Observe here the peculiar and apparentlj 
illogical construction of ceterorum with the superlative, and which we hav* 
endeavored to soften down in translating. It is in fact, however, a Greek 
idiom imitated in Latin. Thus we have {Soph., Ant., 100), k&?3ilgtov r&tf 
irpoTepov <j>dog : and (Thucyd.,i., 1), d^toXoyurarov rfiv irpoyeyevnfievcjv 
TTohefiov, &c. Compare Wex, ad loc. 

Fortissimum quodque animal robore, &c. " Each fiercest animal is laic? 
low by the strength, the timorous and weak ones are put to flight by th* 
very noise of the band ; so," &c. There is a species of zeugma here, and 
with robore we must supply pellitur, in the sense of cmditur. The old read 
ing in this passage was mere, for which we have given robore, which seems 
to be called for by the very opposition indicated by sono.—Reliquus est nu- 
merits, &c. " There remains only a number of cowardly and timid men, 
who, as regards your having at length found them, have not opposed you, 
but have (merely) been overtaken because they were the last," i. e,, whom 
you have found at last, not because they opposed you, but because, being 
the last, they have been overtaken and caught by you. The expression quos 
quod tandem invenistis non restiterunt is an imitation of the Greek idiom, for 
qui, quod tandem invenistis eos, non restiterunt. 

In his vestigiis. "In this place where they are standing." — In quibu* 
ederetis. " In order that you might, in this same place, show forth unto th# 
world." Equivalent to ut in Us (i. e., vestigiis) ederetis. — Transigite cum 
expeditionibus. " Bring (now) your expeditions to a close," i. e., complete 
them. Compare Germ., chap. lx. : " Cum spe votoque uxoris semel transigi- 
tur." — Imponite quinquaginta annis magnum diem. " Crown the fifty years 
with one glorious day." He is speaking in round numbers ; from the ex- 
pedition of A. Plautius it was only forty-two years. — Approbate reipublicm. 
"Prove to your countrymen." 

Chap, XXXV. — Ft alloquente adhuc Agricola. "Both while Agricola 
was yet addressing them." — Instinctos. Compare chap. xvi. : " His atque 
talibus invicem instincti." — Mediam aciem firmarent. "Formed a strong 
centre." Firmarent is here equivalent to firmando formarent. Under tne 
expression mediam aciem Tacitus includes all the infantry between the twe 
bodies of cavalry. — Cornibus affunderentur. " Were poured upon the wings/' 
i. c, were spread out and formed the wings. — Pro vallo. " Before the in- 
t*enchmer»*8," i. e., in the rear of the auxiliaries. Some make pro vallo mean 



CHAP. XXXVI.] AGRICOLA. 243 

here " on the rampart," but this is justly condemned by Wex, who remarks, 
" At totae legiones non possunt in vallo stare, sed ante vallum Mae steterunt" — 
Ingens . . . decus . . . bellanti. Equivalent to ingens duci decus si bellaret. — 
Citra Romanum sanguinem. " Without any effusion of Roman blood." 

Ut primum agmen aequo, &c. " That the first line stood upon the plain, 
the others, as if linked together, rose one above the other along the ascent 
of the mountain." — Media campi. "The intervening space (between the 
two armies)." The space between the van of the Caledonians and the Ro- 
man line. — Covinarius. " The charioteers." Singular for the plural, as in 
eques immediately after. Covinarius signifies the driver of a covinus (Celtic 
Kowain), a kind of car, the spokes of which were armed with long sickles, 
and which was used as a war chariot chiefly by the ancient Belgians and 
Britons. — Eques. The cavalry of the Britons is meant (for they had both 
charioteers and horse), not that of the Romans. 

Simul et latera. Gesner, without any necessity, reads et in latera. The 
preposition is understood. — Diductis ordinibus. "Having extended his 
ranks." Compare Duker, ad Liv., v., 28. — Porrectior. " More drawn out," 
i. e., weaker. — Promtior in spem. Tacitus also uses promtior alicui. Thus, 
Ann., iv., 60 : " Mater promtior Neroni erat." Older writers commonly have 
promtus ad aliquid. — Pedes ante vexilla constitit. " He took his station c^i 
foot before the ensigns." 

Chap. XXXVI. — Constantia. " With steadiness." — Arte. u With dex 
terity." — Ingentibus gladiis, &c. "With huge swords and short targets. 
These targets (cetrae) were small and round, and made of the hide of a quad 
ruped. The broad-sword and target long remained, even in modern times, 
the peculiar arms of the Scottish Highlanders. — Excutere. " Struck aside.'' 
According to Vegetius (i., 4), the Roman recruit was instructed " plagam 
prudenter evitare, et obliquis ictibus venientia tela deflectere." This is what 
Tacitus expresses here by the words evitare and excutere. 

Ad mucrones ac manus. " To the sword-point and a hand-to-hand fight." 
The Britons struck with the edge of their swords (ccesim) ; the Romans, on 
the contrary, and the allies that were armed after the Roman fashion, used 
their shorter weapons for both cutting and thrusting (ccesim et punctim). On 
the present occasion, the Batavi and Tungri were ordered to rush into close 
quarters and employ the thrust, which would place their opponents com- 
pletely at their mercy. Compare Vegetius, i., 12, and Brotier, ad loc. — 
Quod et ipsis, &c. " A movement that was both familiar unto themselves*,, 
from long experience in warfare, and embarrassing to the foe " &c. The 
small shields of the Caledonians did not cover their bodies, and their huge 
swords, moreover, were not easily wielded at close quarters. — Complexum 
armorum, &c. " The thrusts of the Roman weapons, and a close fight. n 
According to Ernesti, complexus armorum is " pugna quae jit cominus et con- 
serendis manibus." Brotier also understands it in this sense, making it 
equivalent to the French " la melee." If, however, this interpretation were 
correct, complexus armorum would have the same meaning as in arcto pugna. 



244 NOTES ON THE [ciiAP. XXXVII. 

which immediately follows, that is, pugna cominus. But as in arcto pugnam 
refers, apparently, to manus preceding (ut rem ad mucrones ac manus adducs 
rent) % so complexus may refer to mucrones, and it will then merely mean the 
blows or thrusts of the Roman weapons. 

Miscere ictus, ferire umbonibus, &c. Observe the air of rapidity and anima 
tion which the succession of infinitives imparts to the narration. — Erigere 
aciem. Consult note on " erexit aciem," chap, xviii. — JEmulatione et impetu. 
" Through emulation of their example, and their own native impetuosity." 
— Festinatione victoria. " In their eager pursuit of victory." Observe that 
festinatio here follows the active meaning, which festino and propero nearly 
always have in Tacitus. Compare Ann., xiii., 17 ; Hist., hi., 25. 

Equitum turmas fugere. This is the reading of all the early editions. 
Many editors have suspected the text of being corrupt, and have indulged 
in various emendations, all of which are perfectly unnecessary. By equitum 
Tacitus means the cavalry of the Britons put to flight by the Romans, and 
the expression turmas, which has misled so many commentators, may be ap- 
plied to the British as well as to the Roman horse. Thus Tacitus else- 
where (Ann., xiv., 34) writes, " Britannorum copies passim per catervas et 
turmas exsultabant." 

Covinarii peditum se proslio miscuere. "While the cavalry of the Caledo- 
nians, on their defeat by the Roman horse, fled from the scene of action, 
the charioteers, in like manner repulsed, retreated to their own infantry. 
By peditum, therefore, the Caledonian foot-soldiers are meant, not, as some 
think, the Roman. — Densis tamen hostium agminibus, &e. " Were now, how- 
ever, entangled among the crowded bands of the enemy, and the inequalities 
of the ground." By hostium are here meant the Caledonians themselves, 
not the Romans. On retreating to their own infantry, the charioteers, who 
had occasioned some consternation by their first shock, now became of little, 
if any service ; for the crowded bands of their own countrymen, already 
thrown into confusion by the charge of the Batavians and Tungri, as well 
as the inequalities of the ground, since the Romans were now making their 
way up the acclivity, prevented them from using their chariots freely. 

Minimeque equestris, &c. The true reading of this passage is extremely 
uncertain. The one which we have given is adopted by Brotier and others, 
and appears to give the best sense. When the charioteers had reached 
their own infantry, and were struggling with their vehicles in the midst of 
this disorderly throng, the confused appearance thus presented was very 
different, according to our author, from that which a battle of horse usually 
presents ; for, keeping their footing with difficulty on the declivity, they 
were every moment either impelled downward by the mere weight of the 
bodies of the horses, or were dragged about by the affrighted steeds in utter 
disorder, encountering friends and foes alike. 

Chap. XXXVII. — Yacui spemebant. 4 'Were regarding with contempt 
while thus disengaged." Observe that vacui gets its force here from pugna 
expert**, which precedes. Some, less correctly, give it the meaning of " free 



CHAP. XXXVIII.] AGRICOLA. 24f 

from apprehension." — Ni id ipsum veritus Agricola, &c. " (And they would 
have accomplished their object), had not Agricola, having apprehended this 
very movement," &c. As regards the elliptical usage of ni here, compare 
note on agitasse C. Casarem, &c, chap. xiii. — Ad subita belli retentas. 
"Held in reserve for the sudden emergencies of battle." — Accvrrerant. 
Dronke writes accucurrerant. The reduplicated form, however, occurs only 
once in Tacitus, in decucurrit (Ann., ii., 7). — Transvectasque pracepto duds, 
&c. " And the squadrons having then, by order of the general, been moved 
across the field from the front of the battle," &c, i. e., having been ordered 
to wheel from the front. 

Turn vero patentibus locis, &c. Imitated from Sallust (Jug., 101), " Turn 
xpectaculum horribile campis patentibus," &c. Observe the animated effect 
produced in both passages by the series of historical infinitives, and the 
omission of the connecting conjunction. — Eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare. 
" Slaughtered these same, as others came in their way." More literally, 
" as others offered themselves." By eosdem are meant those who had been 
taken. — Caterva. "Crowds." — Inermes. "Though unarmed." — Est ali 
quando. " At times." An imitation of the Greek eoriv ore. An inferior 
reading is et aliquando.^fra virtusque. Supply erant. 

Quodni frequens ubique, &c. "And had not Agricola, who was every 
where present, ordered some strong and lightly-equipped cohorts to encom- 
pass the ground after the manner of a hunting-circle, and, if any where there 
were thickets, a part of his cavalry to dismount and make their way through 
these, and, at the same time, another part on horseback to scour the more 
open woods, some disaster would have been encountered through excess 
of confidence." Observe the zeugma in persultare, by which the verb ac- 
quires three different meanings in three successive clauses. — Indaginis 
modo. The term indago refers to that mode of hunting in which the hunters 
formed a complete circle round a large space of ground; and, gradually con- 
tracting it, drove all the animals together into the centre, where they fell an 
easy prey to their darts. — Sicubi arctiora erant. Supply loca. 

Compositos firmis ordinibus. "Arranged in close order." — Agminibus. 
"In bands." — Vitabundi invicem. "Mutually avoiding each other." — Sat- 
ietas. "Satiety (of slaughter)." We may supply ccedendi. — Sexaginta. 
Some editions have quadraginia. The change is very slight, XL for LX — 
Ferocia. " The impetuosity." 

Chap. XXXVIII. — G audio prazdaque lata victoribus. "Was rendered 
gladsome to the victors by the joy of success and by plunder." — Miscerc . . . 
separare. " They arranged some plans together, then deliberated by them- 
selves." Tacitus means, that sometimes they conferred together ; and again, 
it other times, deliberated with themselves, and consulted for their individ- 
ual safety. With separare supply alia, i. e., consilia. — Frangi aspectu pig' 
norum suorum. "Were broken down in spirit at the sight of their pledges 
of affection," i. e., their wives and little ones. — Conciiari. "W re roused 
to fury." — Scevisse in. " Laid violent hands upon." 



846 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXXIX* 

Secreti colles. "■ Deserted hills." Compare " secretum maris" (chapter 
xxv.): u Jonginquitas et secretum" -(chap. xxxi.). — Ubi incertafuga vestigia, 
&c. "When it was ascertained that the tracks of flight were all unce- 
«ain," &c. — Spargi bellum nequibat. " The war could not well be spre* j 
(throughout the country)." — Horestorum. Richard of Cirencester places 
the tribe of the Horesti in the peninsula of Fife. All that appears with re- 
gard to their situation from the narrative of Tacitus is, that they lay some- 
where between the Grampian Hills and the previously conquered nations 
to the south of the Forth. — Circumvehi Britanniam. This was more for the 
sake of conquest than of discovery. Hence the expression employed im- 
mediately after, data ad id vires, " a sufficient force was given him for that 
purpose." 

Ipsa transitus mora. " By the very slowness of his marcn through them." 
—Secunda tempestate acfama. "With favorable weather and fame," i. e. f 
both favored by prosperous gales, and bearing along with it the fame of the 
Roman arms. — Trutulensem portum. Where this harbor was is not known. 
Brotier seeks to identify it with the portus Rutupinus or Rutupensis, the 
modern Sandwich ; others with Portsmouth or Plymouth ; but Mannert's 
opinion is probably the true one, that it was near^fie Firth of Tay, and that 
the fleet only sailed along enough of the coast to prove that Britain was afc 
island. (Mannert, Geogr., ii., p. 67.) 

Chap. XXXIX. — Nulla verborum jactantia auctum. " Unadorned by any 
pomp of words." We have given auctum, with Ritter, Wex, and others, the 
very happy emendation of Lipsius, instead of actum, the reading of the com- 
mon text. The Latinity of such an expression as rerum cursum epistolis 
agere is extremely doubtful. — Inerat conscientia. "He was conscious.''* 
More literally, " there was in (his bosom) a consciousness." — Falsum e Ger 
mania triumphum. This refers to his first fictitious triumph over the Catti, 
in A.D. 84. After this, in the following year, he triumphed over the Daci, 
Marcomanni, and Quadi. — Emtisper commercia, &c. He purchased a num- 
ber of slaves, and attired them like Germans, having also caused their hair 
to be dyed in imitation of the ruddy locks of that nation, and then paraded 
them in triumph through the streets of Rome as so many real captives. 
Caligula had set him the example. (Suet., Cal., 47.) 

Id sibi maxime formidolosum. Supply putabat or existimabat from inerat 
conscientia. Observe, moreover, that formidolosum is here passive, "to be 
apprehended." — Frustra studia fori, &c. Domitian thought that it was of 
no use for him to have put an end to the study of eloquence and polite lit- 
erature, and to have banished those who excelled in such pursuits (compare 
chap, ii.), if some one should obtain popularity by his success in war. — Et 
cetera utcunque facilius, &c. " That all other accomplishments, moreover, 
whether more or less easily, are capable of being concealed from view (by 
thei- possessor) ; that the talents of an able commander, (however), form an 
attribute of empire." More literally, "are imperial," I. e., mark their pos- 
essor as a fit individual to attain unto empire. In earlier Latinity, the 



CHAP. XL.] AGRICOLA. 247 

clause would have run as follows : et cetera, utcunque sit, facilius dissimu- 

lari. 

Quodque scevoe cogitationis indicium erat, &c. " And, what was a sure in- 
dication of some malignant intent, having brooded over them for a long time 
in his wonted privacy." More literally, " having sated himself with his 
wonted privacy." The allusion is to that love of solitude which became 
the most confirmed of all the habits of Domitian, and in which he indulged 
either for the purpose of plotting mischief against others, or of gratifying his 
own vicious propensities. Compare Suet..Dom.,3. — Impetus famae. "The 
first impulse of public opinion." — Britanniam obtinebat. " Held the com 
mand of Britain." 

Chap, XL. — Triumphalia ornamenta. Since A.U.C. 735, after Agrippa's 
victory over the Cantabri, the honor of the triumph itself belonged to the em- 
peror and to the princes of the imperial family. Other generals were forced 
to be contented with the mere insignia of the triumph, namely, the bay 
chaplet, the toga praetexta, the trabea triumphalis, triumphal statue (illus- 
tris), curule chair, ivory sceptre, &c. In the expression quidquid pro tri 
umpho datur are included public sacrifices and thanksgivings. — Multo ver 
borum honore cumulata. " Loaded with much complimentary language," i. e., 
together with a profusion of complimentary expressions. — Additque insuper 
opinionem. " And he causes, also, the expectation to be entertained." The 
common text has addique, for which we have given the emendation of Mu- 
retus, which has been adopted by Ernesti, the Bipont editor, Oberlin, Bek- 
ker, and many others. — Majoribus. " For persons of more than ordinary 
distinction." Equivalent here to illustrioribus. Compare minores in Ann., 
xvi., 8 ; Hist., iv., 85. The province of Syria embraced a very large por 
tion of the East, and formed one of the most important and opulent of for- 
eign commands. 

Ex secretioribus ministeriis. " Of the number of those employed in con- 
fidential services." — Codicillos. "Letters patent." Literally, "tablets.' 
These were secured with a thread and seal, thus forming in the present in 
stance an imperial dispatch. — JJt si in Britannia for et, &c. Agricola was 
immediately recalled ; but the suspicious Domitian feared that he might 
maintain his post by force ; and the sending of this confidential agent with 
letters patent, conferring on him the government of Syria, was merely a de- 
vice to draw him away from Britain. If Agricola were already on his way 
to Rome, that would be unnecessary ; and, accordingly, the freedman, meet- 
ing Agricola on his journey, returned to Rome without delivering the letters. 
*— In ipso freto oceani. The Straits of Dover. — Ex ingenio principis. " In 
accordance with the character of the prince." 

Successori suo. The successor of Agricola was probably Sallustius Lu- 
cullus, who, as Suetonius informs us, was put to death by Domitian for per- 
mitting certain lances of a new construction to be called " Lucullean." 
(Suet., Bom., 10.) The possession of the Highlands was lost after Agricola 
was recalled. — Ac ne notabilis celebritate, &c. " And lest his entrance into 



248 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XL!. 

the city might be too conspicuous through the rank and numbers of thosa 
going out to meet him." — Amicorum officio. " The salutation of his friends." 
—Brevi osculo. " With* a slight kiss." To salute with a kiss was an or 
dinary custom, on the part of both sexes, among the Romans. The warmei 
the friendship, the heartier, of course, was the salutation. Under the em- 
perors the custom still continued, and the prince was wont to receive with a 
kiss the more distinguished of those who sought an audience. This, however, 
soon became the breve osculum, or slight ceremonious salutation, amounting 
to a mere matter of form ; and in some cases even this was not given. — 
Turbos servientium. " With the servile throng," i. e., of courtiers, &c. 

Ut militare nomen temperaret. " That he might soften down the glare of 
military reputation." — Otiosos. " Those who lead lives of inaction." As 
otium is commonly used in opposition to bellum, so by otiosi here are meant 
the mere men of peace, if we may so express it, or, in other words, mere 
civilians. — Tranquillitatem atque otium penitus auxit. "He gave himself 
vholly up to tranquillity and inaction," i, e, t to a life of tranquil ease. — 
Cultu. " In his mode of life," Cultus here has a general reference, and is 
not to be restricted to mere attire. — Facilis. "Affable." — Uno aut altero 
amicorum comitatus. " Accompanied by one or two friends." Comitatus is 
here used passively, as in Cicero, De Or., iii., 6 : " Eodem est instructu orna- 
tuque comitata." — Per ambitionem. " By the appearance which they make* 
in public." Compare the explanation of Brotier : " Ex vita splendore et 
numeroso comitatu." — Qu&rerent famam. " Called in question his renown," 
i. c, missed the splendor and display which they had looked for in one so 
renowned, and therefore began to doubt the very existence of that renown 
itself. — Fauci interpretarentur. " Few could interpret his conduct," i. e.', 
few understood his moti res. 

Chap. XLI. — Crebro per eos dies, &c. Among the enemies of Agricola 
may be mentioned M. Regulus, Veiento, and Publius Certus. Their ac- 
cusations were made in secret, and hence absens accusatus. Domitian him- 
self, however, felt the gross injustice of these charges, and therefore acquitted 
Agricola at once, without either notifying him of these accusations or call- 
ing upon him for any defence ; and hence absens absolutus est. — Crimen. 
" Crime against the state." — Lasi cujusquam. " From any private individ- 
ual who had been injured by him." — Laudantes. " Eulogizers." Every 
word of praise bestowed upon Agricola would excite, of course, the jealousy 
of the tyrant. 

Sileri. "To be passed over in silence." — Tot exercitus, &c. This re- B 
fers to the wars with the Daci, Marcomanni, and Quadi, in the years 86-91, 
which ended with Domitian's second mock-triumph. The Romans, how- 
ever, were in fact defeated, and Domitian was obliged to conclude peace 
with Decebalus, king of the Daci, on very humiliating terms. — Tot militare* 
viri, &c. " So many men of military character, together with so many co- 
horts, defeated and taken prisoners." Compare Imcret., iv., 1008 : u Regrea 
txpugnare;" and Liv. f xxiii., 30: " Obsessos fame expugnavit." — De lir^g 



CHAP. XLII.] AGRICOLA. 249 

imperii. This, in all probability, must be looked for in the line of Roman 
forts still visible between Peterwardein and Bees, on the Teis. Compare 
Mannert y iv., p. 170.-— Ripa. The right bank of the Danube, as far as the 
Quadi and Marcomanni. 

Funeribus et cladibus. " By losses of leaders and overthrows of armies." 
Funeribus refers back to the militares viri previously mentioned, and cladibus 
to the forces under their charge. — Cum inertia etformidine reorum. "With 
the indolence and pusillanimity of those who were now accused (of incapac- 
ity)," i. «., by the voice of the people. Reorum here is a conjectural reading ; 
the MSS. have eorum. The term reus is frequently used, not merely in a 
strictly legal sense, in opposition to accusatory petitory actor, but with a more 
extended meaning. ( Walch, ad loc.) 

Dum optimus quisque libertorumy &c. " While each best one of his freed- 
men, through affection and fidelity, the worst through malignity and envy, 
kept urging (to the choice) a prince prone of himself to follow the worse 
advisers." Dum is more usually followed by the present tense ; but there 
is nothing in the conjunction itself which necessarily requires this, and the 
imperfect, as here, is sometimes found with it. — In ipsam gloriam prasceps 
agebatur. The idea intended to be conveyed by these words is, that Agric 
ola's virtues, which were maliciously magnified by his enemies, raised his 
reputation and glory ; but that this very glory was the cause of his ruin. 

Chap. XLII. — Quo proconsulatum Asics y &c. " In which he was to dra 
lots for the proconsulate of Asia and Africa." Et has here, in fact, a dis- 
junctive force, two distinct proconsulates being made the subject of lot, and 
the two senior consulars casting lots for the same. Some editors have con- 
jectured aut for et, but this is unnecessary, since both provinces were, in 
fact, equally drawn for. — Occiso Civica. The reference is to Civica Cerealis, 
who, according to Suetonius (Dom.y 10), was put to death in his proconsulate 
of Asia, on the charge of meditating a revolt. — Consilium. " A lesson," i. e., 
a warning. — Exemplum. " A precedent." 

Cogitationum principis periti. "Well acquainted with the secret inten 
tions of the prince," i. c, his wish that Agricola should not accept the foreign 
government, and his intention to prevent him. — Occultius. " Somewhat dis- 
tantly." — In approbanda excusatione. " In making good his excuse (to the 
emperor)," i. e. } his excuse for not accepting the proconsulate. — Non jam 
obscuri. This is a correction for non tarn obscuriy and answers infinitely 
better to primo occultius. Besides, ita, not tam t would be required. — Paratus 
simulationey &c. " Prepared with hypocrisy, having assumed a stately air." 
Compare Cic.y ad Att. y ix., 13 : "paratus peditatu." — Agi sibi gratias passus 
est. Obliging persons to return thanks for an injury was a refinement in 
tyranny frequently practiced by the worst of the Roman emperors. — Nee 
erubuit beneficii invidia. " Nor did he blush at the invidious nature of the 
favor," i. e., nor did he blush with shame that Agricola should be made to 
receive as a favor so marked an injury. Observe that invidia is here put fbi 
res invidiosa. 

L2 



250 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XLIIL 

Solarium, This was an allowance for the maintenance of the governor. 
The word Is derived from sal, meaning, properly, money given for the pur- 
chase of salt. Compare Horace (Sat., i., 5, 46): " Parochi prabent ligna 
salemque qua debent." It was first granted by Augustus, and amounted 
sometimes to two hundred and fifty thousand drachmae, or over forty thou- 
sand dollars. During the empire we find instances of the salarium being 
paid to a person who had obtained a province, but was nevertheless not al- 
lowed to govern it. In this case the salarium was a compensation for the 
honor and advantages which he might have derived from the actual govern- 
ment of a province. Agricola's case would fall under this head. — Ne quod 
vetuerat videretur emisse. " Lest he might seem to have purchased what he 
had forbidden," i. e., lest it might seem a bribe for what he had in realitv 
extorted by his authority. 

Proprium humani ingenii est. "It is a principle of human nature." — Ir 
revocabilior. " More implacable," Equivalent to implacabilior, a use of the 
term hardly found in any other writer (Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 277). — Sciant y 
quibus moris est, &c. "Let those know whose custom it is to admire un 
laviful things," i. e., to admire every opposition to control. Xllicita here re 
fers to the contumacia and inanis libertatis jactatio, frequently assumed by 
Stoics in those times ; as, for example, when Helvidius Priscus openly cel- 
ebrated the birth-day of Brutus and Cassius. Consult Dio Cassius, lxvi., 
12, 13, 15.— Eo laudis excedere, &c. "Attain unto the same degree of 
praise as that to which many, through abrupt and dangerous paths, but 
without any benefit to their country, have brilliantly attained by an ambi 
tiaus death." Observe that inclaruerunt is equivalent here to clarescentes 
pervenerunt. By abrupta is meant what Tacitus elsewhere (Ann., iv., 20) 
calls abrupta contumacia, opposed to deforme obsequium. 

Chap. XLIII. — Finis vita, &c. The death of Agricola was, as his bi- 
ographer plainly hints in what follows, either immediately caused or cer- 
tainly hastened by the emissaries of Domitian, who could not bear the pres- 
ence of a man pointed out by universal feeling as alone fit to meet the ex- 
igency of times in which the Roman arms had suffered repeated reverses in 
Germany and the countries north of the Danube. Dio Cassius (lxvi., 20) 
says expressly that he was killed by Domitian. — Extraneis etiam, &c. The 
epigram of Antiphilus (Antkol. Brunch, ii., 180) is commonly supposed to 
refer to him. — Vulgus quoque, &c. "The common people too, and that 
same populace who are in general indifferent about the affairs of others," 
Populus enlarges here on vulgus, and the expression hie aliud agens populus 
is employed to delineate more closely the character of the lower classes. 
These were now, contrary to their usual habits, deeply interested in the sit 
uation of Agricola. Compare Wex, ad loc : " Hoc loco aliud agens adjectivi 
naturam habet : incuriosus, gleichgiiltig, gedankenlos, theilnahmlos, nihil 
curans res, quas digncs sunt, ad quas animos advertant." 

Nobis nihil comperti, &c. " For my own part, I can not venture to affirm 
hat any thing has been found by us for certain." Supply esse after nihil 



CHAP. XLIV.] AGRICOLA. 25i 

e&mperti, and refer nobis to the family and friends of Agrico'a. The clause 
is very obscurely worded, so much so, indeed, as to lead to the suspicion 
that the text has been corrupted. Various emendations, therefore, have 
been suggested by different editors, but all more or less unsatisfactory. — 
Crebrius quam ex more, &c. " More frequently than accords with the custom 
of sovereigns, who pay visits merely by formal messages." Literally, " the 
custom of sovereignty, visiting by means of messages." — Medicorura intimi. 
** The most confidential of the physicians (of the palace)." — Inquisitio. " A 
prying (into the progress of his disorder)." 

Momenta deficientis. " The successive moments of the sinking man," 
i. e., the successive stages of the death-struggle. Compare Botticher : " die 
Stadien des Todeskampfes" — Per dispositos cursores. It appears that Do- 
mitian was at this time at his Alban villa, or certainly absent somewhere 
from Rome. — Sic accelerari qua tristis audiret. " That tidings which he 
could hear with sadness were thus accelerated," i. e., that so much pains 
were taken to accelerate information which could prove other than accept- 
able. — Cohceredem optima uxori, &c. This, of course, would be the best 
way of securing to his family a portion of his property. Compare Ann., 
xvi., 11. — PiissimcB. "Most dutiful," i. e., most devotedly affectionate. — 
Lcetatum eum velut honor e judicioque. " He was delighted therewith as if it 
had been an honorable testimony in his favor." Honore judicioque is, by 
hendiadys, for judicio honorijico. 

Chap XLIV. — Natus erat Agricola, &c. The eariy editions, down to the 
time of Ursinus and Lipsius, have Caio Cms. ter. cons., which these editors 
enlarged to Caio Cmsare teitium cons., and from that period tertium consule 
has remained the common reading. But Caligula's third consulate was in 
the year U.C. 793 ; the consulate of Collega and Priscus in 846. Accord- 
ing to this, therefore, Agricola would have died in the fifty -fourth year of his 
age, being fifty-three years, two months, and ten days old. To get over this 
difficulty, some suppose that Tacitus wrote LIV, and not LVI ; others, that 
he wrote primum instead of tertium. The first consulate of Caligula was in 
790, so that the latter supposition is the more likely of the two, and we have 
accordingly followed it in the text. If, then, we take 790 as the year of 
igricola's birth, he would be fifty-six years, two months, and ten days old, 
ind, accordingly, properly in his fifty-seventh year. But sexto et quinqua- 
{esimo anno mortuus est may mean that he died either before or after the 
completion of his fifty-sixth year. Suetonius {Aug., 26) says of Augustus : 
' Consulatum vicesimo mtatis anno invasit." This was when Augustus 
wanted thirty-six days of having completed his twentieth year. Livy (Ep., 
\19), on the contrary, says " Nonum decimum agms," of a youth who was 
ibove nineteen years and ten months old. Now Agricola was preetor under 
Nero, and therefore before June 9th, 821. According to Dio Cassius (lii., 
20), he must have then completed his twenty-ninth year. Taking the ex- 
treme case, if he was praetor after August 23d, 820, he must have been born 
m 791. But this is impossible, as Caligula was not consul in that year: 



252 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XLV, 

and, accordingly, we can only supposu that he was born in 790, and thus he 
would be quaestor aff;er the completion of his twenty -fifth year, tribune after 
his twenty-seventh, praetor after his twenty -ninth, and consul after his thirty 
ninth year. 

Habitum ejus. " His personal appearance." — Decentior quam sublimior 
fuit. "He was rather well-made than tall." — Nihil metus in vultu, &c. 
" There was nothing in his countenance to inspire awe ; a sweetness of 
expression was its prevalent characteristic." Literally, "abounded." — 
Medio in spatio, &c. According to Tacitus himself elsewhere (Dial, de Or., 
17), an Integra cetas, or full and complete period of human life, was one hur.d- 
red and twenty years. — Quantum ad gloriam. " Yet, as far as glory was 
concerned," z. e., if his life be measured by the glory to which he attained. 

Impleverat. " He had fully enjoyed." Equivalent to plene assecutus erat. 
Compare the Greek usage in the case of avanXTJaat (Horn., Od., v., 208), 
and uva7r2,7}pfi<7cu (Lucian, Q. H. C. S., 8).— SpecioscB coniigerant. "A 
Handsome fortune had fallen to his lot." Dio Cassius (Ixvi., 20) errs in 
saying that Agricola lived for the remainder of his life in dishonor and want 
(§v ts arifiia ml ev evdeia). This is contradicted by his not asking for 
the proconsular allowance, and by what Tacitus says in chap. vi. — Futura 
effugisse. " In having escaped from impending evils." 

Nam sicuti durare, &e. " For, as he used, in our hearing, to divine from 
auguries, and to express the desire by many a wish, that he would still be 
continuing to exist amid the present radiance of a most blissful age, and 
would behold Trajan emperor," &c. The common text has quod augurio 
votisque, &c. We have rejected quod, however, as suggested by Walch and 
others. The use of durare and videre for se duraturum and visurum may be 
defended from " ratusque dedecus amoliri" (Ann., xiv., 14), and " nusquam 
eas (pecunias) tutius sanctiusque deponere credentibus" (Liv., xxiv., 18). Ob- 
serve, moreover, the zeugma in ominabatur, and compare the explanation 
of Walch : " et auguriis ominabatur et votis concupiscebat." The omens here 
alluded to, and which were said to have foretold the elevation of Trajan to 
the imperial throne, are spoken of by Dio Cassius (lxvii., 12) and Pliny 
(Paneg., 5, 94). Thev occurred in A.U.C. 844, and Agricola died in A.TJ.C 
846. 

Chap. XLV. — Non vidit Agricola, &c. " Agricola did not live to see the 
senate-house besieged." Consult Ann., xvi., 27; Suet., Dom., 10, 11 ; Dio 
Cass., lxvii., 12. — Tot consularium cades. Consult Suet., Dom., 10, 15. — 
Feminarum exsilia et fugas. As, for example, Annia, Fannia, Gratilla, 
Flavia Domitilla, and Pontia Domitila. — Una adhuc victoria, &c. " As yet, 
Carus Metius was estimated by merely a single victory." He was one of 
the most notorious informers under Domitian. Since as yet, however, but 
one victim had fallen beneath his accusations, no one could at that time es- 
timate the mischief which he was shortly about to bring upon the nation. 
Hence his power to injure was as yet rated comparatively low. 

Et intra Albanam arcem. &c. w And the counsel » of Hfessalir.us re^ounc* 



CHAP. XLV.] AGRTCOLA. 25^ 

ed (as yet) only through the Alban villa, and Massa Baebius (himself) was 
even at that time among the accused." The arx Albana was Domitian's 
villa, which he built on the Via Appia, at the foot of the Alban Mount. 
Hither he frequently summoned the senate and pontifices. Catullus Mes- 
salinus was an informer, concerning whom see Juvenal, iv., 113, seqq., and 
Dio Cassius, lxvii., 1. The meaning of Tacitm. is, that Messalinus had not 
yet ventured to become an open and public informer at Rome, but that his 
accusations were as yet secret ones, and confined to the privacy of the Al- 
ban villa. Massa Bebius or Baebius was one of the most infamous inform- 
srs of the latter part of the reign of Domitian. He was one of the procu 
rators in Africa, A.D. 70 ; and afterward governor of Baetica, in which prov 
ince he was guilty of great extortion. On his return to Rome, he was ac 
cused by the provincials, and condemned the same year that Agricola died, 
A.D. 93 ; but he seems to have escaped punishment through the favor of 
Domitian, and from this time became one of the informers and favorites of 
the tyrant. 

Nostra manus. " Our own hands," i. e., the hands of one of our own body, 
or, in other words, a senator. As Publicius Certus, a member of the sen- 
ate, had seized upon Helvidius and led him to prison, Tacitus imputes the 
crime to the whole senatorian order, himself included. Tacitus took his 
seat in the senate as a man of praetorian rank, after A.U.C. 841, and he uses 
the expression nostras manus, therefore, although absent from Rome at the 
time when the arrest in question took place. Compare Plin , Ep., ix., 13, 
and Suet., Dom., 10, where this affair is alluded to. — Nos Maurici Rusticique 
visus, &c. " The spectacle of Mauricus and Rusticus struck us with horror, 
Senecio bedewed us with innocent blood." This sentence affords a pe- 
culiar instance of the figure zeugma, where perfudit, as understood in the 
first clause, becomes equivalent to horrore perculit. Mauricus and Arulenus 
Rusticus were brothers, united not only by the ties of natural affection, but 
by the virtues of their private character. They were cruelly separated in 
the sight of the senate, when Rusticus was hurried away to execution, and 
Mauricus ordered into banishment. {Hist., iv., 40 ; Ann., xvi., 26.) — Se- 
necio. Consult notes on chap. ii. 

Videre et adspici. " To behold (him), and to be observed (by him)." The 
peculiar meaning of adspici, by which it rises in strength above videre, is 
worthy of notice. The reference is to the sei ching and suspicious look 
of the tyrant, and his watching the expression of every countenance in ordei 
to detect, if possible, some ground of accusation. — Subscriberentur. "Were 
made subjects of accusation against us." Others take the word to mean 
simply "were secretly noted down;" but this wants force in the present 
instance, however well it might answer in other passages. The evil com- 
plained of here was encouraged under Tiberius {Ann., iv., 30), Caligula, 
Claudius, and Nero ; was repressed under Vespasian and Titus {Hist., iv.. 
44), but reached its height under Domitian. 

Cum denotandis tot hominum palloribus, &c. "Wht l that savage coun- 
tenance, with its settled redness, &c, r.sver tired in noting the pallid look9 



254 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XLVT. 

of so many spectators." Domitian's complexion was of so deep a red, that 
nothing could add to his natural color, and he was therefore said by the 
vouiiger Pliny (Paneg., 48) to be a man of unblushing impudence.— Quo 
. . . muniebat. The old reading was a quo, which might perhaps mean a 
quo auxilium petens se muniebat. 

Opportunitate mortis. " In the seasonableness of thy death." Compare 
Cic. de Orat., iii., 3, where the same expression occurs in speaking of the 
death of the orator Crassus. — Constans et libens. "With firmness and 
cheerfulness." — Tamquam pro virili portione, &c. "As if, so far as lay in 
thy power, thou wast bestowing innocence upon thy sovereign," i. c, as if, 
so far as lay in thy power, thou didst wish, by thy calmness and serenity, 
to show that Domitian was guiltless of thy death. The expression pro virili 
portione means, literally, " for (i. e., in proportion to) a man's share." 

Filiasque. The allusion is to Tacitus's wife. This is a correction for 
filioque. Agricola's sons were both dead. — Assidere valetudinu " To sit by 
thy sick-bed." Literally, "by thy sickness." — Nobis tarn longce absentia 
conditioner &c. " To us wast thou lost four years before, by the circum- 
stance of so long an absence." Observe that ante quadriennium is for quad- 
riennio ante. So " multos ante annos," for multis annis ante. (Ann., xiv., 
9.) It appears that Tacitus and his wife, at the time of Agricola's death, 
had been four years absent from Rome, on what account we are nowhere 
informed. 

Omnia superfuere honori tuo. " Every mark of attention 

was abundantly rendered unto thee, their honored object." Literally, " all 
things, &c, abounded for thy honor," *'. e., for honoring thee and making 
thy last moments peaceful and comfortable. — Compositus es. " Thou wast 
laid to rest," i. e., thy ashes were gathered into their last resting-place, the 
funeral urn. The verb componere, like the Greek TcepioreXTiEiv, is espe- 
cially used in this sense. (Orelli, ad Horat., Sat., i., 9, 28.) — Aliquid. The 
reference is to his daughter, and her husband, Tacitus. 

Chap. XL VI. — Si quis piorum manibus locus. " If there be any abiding- 
place for the shades of the virtuous." The religious opinions of Tacitus 
partook of the character of his age. He had no strong convictions, no settled 
belief of a moral government of the world ; his love of virtue, and his ab- 
norrence of vice, were purely moral ; they had no reference to a future ex- 
istence. (Compare Ann., iii., 18 ; vi., 22.) On the present occasion, in 
this, one of his earliest productions, he hopes, rather than expects, that the 
souls of the departed may still live, and be conscious of what is passing on 
earth ; but in his latest writings there are no traces that his hopes or his 
wishes had ever ripened into a belief. 

Ab infirmo desiderio. "From weak regret." — Et immortalibus laudibus, 
&c. The text here is very uncertain. We have given the reading of the 
best editions. The common text has temporalibus laudibus .... militum de~ 
coramus. Consult Walther, ad loc. — JEmulatu. " By an imitation of thy 
rxample." — Pietas " The affectionate duty." — Famamque acfiguram animi, 



CHAP. XLVi.] AGRICOLA. 255 

Ac. " And ever embrace in thought the glorious features of his mind rather 
than those of his person." There is a hendiadys in famam ac Hguram. Mu- 
retus conjectured formam for famam; but, in the first place, this is against 
all the MSS., and, in the next, such a collocation as formam ac figuram, 
though Ciceronian, is not in accordance with the historical style of Tacitus. 
( Walch, ad loc.) Ritter conjectures faciem for famam. 

Non quia intercedendum, &c. " Not because I think that we should pro- 
hibit those resemblances (of the departed)." Literally, "that we must put 
our veto upon." The verb intercedo, here employed in its figurative sense, 
refers properly to the interposing of a veto, or the prohibiting a thing on the 
part of a magistrate who has the right to do so. — Per alienam materiam el 
artem. " By means of any foreign material, and through another's skill," 
t. e., through the skill of the artist. — Mansurumque est, &c. "And is des- 
tined to remain, in the hearts of men, in the eternal lapse of ages, in the 
*ame of achievements." Fama return is only another designation for history. 



NOTES 



ON 



THE ANNALS. 



NOTES ON THE ANNALS. 



BOOK I. 

Chap I. — Urbem Romam .... habuere. These words form an hexam- 
eter line. In Tacitus there are several, and they often occur in other prose 
writers. Generally speaking, however, they are not so much the result of 
any actual intention on the part of the writer as of the emphatic arrange- 
ment of the sentence. Hexameters in prose militate against good taste, 
and were regarded as faults by the ancient critics. Compare Cic. de Or at., 
iii., 47, 182; Id. Orat., 56, 189; QuintiL, ix., 4, 12. — Habuere. " Held," 
i. e.y governed. — Ad tern-pus. " For a time," i. e., either for a short time, to 
meet some pressing emergency, or for an indefinite period, whenever and as 
long as seemed necessary. The dictatorship, however, could not regularly 
be held for a longer period than six months. — Decemviralis potestas. " The 
decemviral office." Potestas must be taken here in its strict sense of del- 
egated or official authority, for the decemvirs were, in fact, at the head of 
the state in the third year also (B.C. 449), but then with usurped power. — 
Ultra biennium. In point of fact, it lasted a few months beyond the twc 
years. But during the last seven months of their power, they maintained 
themselves by force. 

Tribunorum militum. Military tribunes, with consular authority, were 
created from A.U.C. 310 to 388, though not uninterruptedly. — dunce. 
Cinna held the consulship four times, from A.U.C. 667 to 670. — Sulla. 
Sulla continued dictator from A.U.C. 672 to 675. He was the first who 
was invested with the dictatorship for any lengthened period Caesar was 
the first who was made perpetual dictator. — Cessere. " Merged." — Nomine 
principis. He was content with the title of princeps, in which there was 
nothing that savored of the despot or tyrant ; being aware that the names 
of king and dictator, since the expulsion of Tarquin and the assassination 
of Caesar, had become equally odious. Henceforth principatus and princip- 
ium were used as equivalent to imperium. 

Veteris populi Romani. The reference is to the time of the republic, up 
to the battle of Actium and the beginning of the rule of Augustus. — Decora 
ingenia. "Writers of handsome talents." Doederlein thinks that Tacitus 
refers in particular to Asinius Pollio, Titus Labienus, and Cremutius Cor- 
dus. —Deterrerentur. Men of high principle and honor would not stoop to 
flattery, and, on the o±her hand, could not dispense with it in their writings 
without danger. 



260 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. H, 

Tiberii Caiique, &e. We have here the limits ot the period embraced by 
the Annals. By Caius is meant Caligula, whose historical name was Caius 
Cassar. — Res. "The histories." — Falsa. "Were full of falsification." 
Supply erant. — Et extrema. " And these connected with the close of his 
life." — Et cetera. What is called above Caiique et Claudii ac Neronis res. 
— Studio. "Partiality." — Quorum causas, &c. "The incentives to which 
I have far removed from me," i. e., from the incentives to which I stand far 
aloof. 

Chap. II. — Cassis. They fell by their own hands. (Dio Cass., xlvii., 
46.) — Publica arma. Forces intended to carry on war against foreign ene- 
mies, under the sanction of the senate and people. The individuals men 
tioned immediately after bore arms, not for the stated but for their own ag 
grandizement. — Pompeius apud Siciliam oppressus. "After Pompeius had 
been crushed off Sicily." The allusion is to Sextus Pompeius, younger son 
of Pompey the Great, whose fleet was defeated with great loss off Naulo- 
«.hus, a naval station on the northern coast of Sicily, between Mylae ana 
the promontory of Pelorus, B.C. 36. — Exuto. "Having been stripped of 
his forces." Octavianus bribed twenty legions to desert from him. {Veil. 
Paterc, ii., 80.) — Interfecto Antonio. By himself. (Suet., Aug., 17.) — 
Cassar. C. Julius Cassar Octavianus. 

Posito triumviri nomine. This was the only triumvirate which was prop, 
erly and truly so called. It was a magistracy with supreme authority, with 
which Octavianus, Antony, and Lepidus were invested for five years by the 
senate and people. The full title was Triumviri reipublicae ordinandi 
The other triumvirates, of which we read, were called so ironically ; for 
Marius, Sulla, and Cinna, and again Cassar, Pompey, and Crassus, only 
privately entered into a league to unite their power, and neither received 
their authority by any public decree, nor made use of the name triumviri. 

Consulem se ferens. " Styling himself consul." From 31 to 23 B.C. he 
held nine consulships in succession. ( Suet., Aug., 26.) — Tribuniciojure con 
tentum. But the tribunician authority was in reality an instrument of great 
power in the hands of the emperors, as it had been in former times, and 
was frequently conferred upon them for five years by new decrees, and b) 
them on their colleagues and successors in the government. — Annona. " B> 
a distribution of corn." This was done on some occasions gratuitously, on 
others at a low price. — Dulcedine otii. Augustus shut the temple of Janus 
three times. (Suet., Aug., 22.) 

Munia .... trahere. At the same time, in accordance with the advicp or 
Maecenas, he retained the names and dignities of the principal magistracies, 
that the people might be deceived by an empty show of liberty. The em- 
perors themselves were released from the obligations of most of the laws, 
though not of all. — Per acies. " In battles." Principally in those of Phi 
lippi and Actium. — Opibus et honoribus. Supply tanto ?nagis at the beginning 
of the clause, and observe that opibus and honoribus are ablati' es. {Wolf, 
ad loc.) 



•CHAP. III. ANNALS. 261 

Ilium rerum statum. Three words of similar ending. Consult notes on 
cnap. xxiv. — Certamina potentium. Dating back as far as the times of Ha- 
rms and Sulla. — Turbabantur. "Were interrupted in their execution." 
The laws which were meant to protect the provincials against persons in 
office were those de pecuniis repetundis. 

Chap. III. — Subsidia dominationi, " As supports to his rule." - The da- 
tive is here elegantly employed for the ordinary genitive. So "rector juve- 
ni" (i., 24) ; " dona templis" (ii., 60) ; " causa* bello" (ii., 64). Tacitus means, 
Hi essent subsidia dominationis si honoribus extollerentur. — Sororis filium. 
Son of Octavia, by C. Claudius Marcellus, who was consul in B.C. 50. Au- 
gustus had no cnildren besides his daughter Julia. — Admodum adolescentem. 
His death took place in the seventeenth year of his age, A.U.C. 731, in the 
baths of Baiae ; the suspicion of which fell upon Livia, who, as was sup- 
posed, wished to advance her own sons, Tiberius and Drusus. (Dio Cass., 
liii., 33.) — Pontificatu. The office of pontifex was conferred upon Marcel- 
lus by Augustus, as it was upon Nero, the son of Germanicus, by Tiberius 
(iii., 29). The emperors, from Augustus to Gratianus, kept the office of 
Pontifex Maximus to themselves. 

Marcum Agrippam. M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus, 
was consul in A.U.C. 717, 726, 727, and consul suffectus in A.U.C. 735. 
He was also prefect of the city from the year 734, and was united with Au- 
gustus in the tribunician power from 736. — Geminatis consulatibus. "By 
two successive consulships." These were in A.U.C. 726 and 727, along 
with Augustus, to whom he was indebted for them. In 717 he was elected 
by the free votes of the tribes. (Suet., Caes., 76; Veil, Paterc, ii., 90, 96.) 
—Generum sumsit. Julia, who had been betrothed to Marcellus, was given 
to him in marriage. (Suet., Aug., 63.) Of this marriage were born Caius 
and Lucius Caesar, Agrippa Postumus, Julia (iii., 24; iv., 71), and Agrip- 
pina (chap, xxxiii.). 

Privignos. " His step-sons." They were the sons of Livia. — Imperator- 
iis nominibus. " With the title of imperator." Not as he bore in perma 
nence the title, but in the ancient way, namely, the being saluted as im- 
perator by the legions. — Integra etiam turn domo sua. " His own line being 
even then entire," i. e., though there had even then been no diminution in 
the members of his house. — Induxerat. " He had already adopted." Sup- 
ply adoptione. — Principes juventutis. They were so called as leaders of the 
centuries equitum. After Augustus, the appellation of princeps juventutis im- 
plied a title to the succession to the throne. Caius was born A.U.C. 734 ; 
Lucius, A.U.C. 736. (Dio Cass.i liv., 18.) — Destinari. In the sense of 
designari. 

Ut Agrippa vita concessit, &c. Agrippa died B.C. 12; Lucius Ccesar, 
A.D. 2 ; Caius, A.D. 4 ; Drusus, B.C. 9. — Euntem ad Hispanienses exercitus i 
&c. L. Caesar died at Massilia (Marseilles) ; Caius at Limyra, in Lycia 
A monument erected to thei: memory, on the confines of the Ubii and Tre- 
Teri h-rs discovered in *he last century at a place called Junkerraht. — Livia 



262 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. IV* 

dolus. Livia was endeavoring to secure the succession to her two sons, 
Tiberius Nero and Drusus. The latter died in the thirtieth year of his age, 
in consequence of a fall from his horse, by which he fractured his ]eg. — 
Nero. Tiberius. 

Filius. He was adopted by Augustus A.D. 4. — Collega imperii. In A.D. 
12. — Consors tribunicice potestatis assumitur. This was done three times. 
First, in B.C. 6, for five years, when thirty-six years of age;. the second 
time in A.D. 4, also for five years ; the third time in A.D. 13, in perpetuity. 
— Ostentatur. He was sent as imperator, now to this army, now to that 
one. (Wolfy ad loc.) — -Obscuris artibus. " By the secret machinations.'' — 
Nepotem unicum. " His only surviving grandson." That- is, after the death 
of Caius and Lucius. — Agrippam Postumum. Agrippa Postumus, the son 
of Agrippa and Julia, was born after the death of his father, and adopted by 
Augustus on the same day as Tiberius. — Planasiam. Planasia, now Pi 
anosa, lay between Corsica and the coast of Etruria, Agrippa was ban 
ished to it in A.D. 7. Instead of Planasia, Suetonius (Aug., 65) mentions 
Surrentum ; and the scholiast on Juvenal (vi., 158), Sicily. This deporlaiio 
in insulam, generally a desert island, was a more severe punishment than 
the relegatio, and involved the loss of liberty, citizenship, and property. — 
Robore corporis stolide ferocem. " Stupidly priding himself upon his strength 
of body." — Compertum. " Convicted." 

At hercule Germanicum, &c. The at, " and yet," is employed here be- 
cause, considering how much he was under the influence of Livia, one 
would not have expected that he would have placed beside Tiberius so 
dangerous a rival. The addition of the oath hercule, which may be rendered 
freely " strange to say, though true," calls attention more fully to the unex- 
pected nature of the transaction, and, at the same time, vouches for tho 
accuracy of the account. — Per adoptionem. Hence Tiberius (though the 
uncle) is frequently called the father, and Drusus the younger (though the 
cousin) is styled the brother of Germanicus. — Filius juvenis. Drusus, his 
son by his first wife, Vipsania. (Suet., Tib., 52.)—Sed quo. " But (he did 
this) in order that." After sed supply ita faciebat. 

Abolendas in/amice. " For the sake of blotting out the disgrace (con- 
tracted)." Supply causa, and consult Madvig, $ 417 ; Obs. 5. — Cum Quinc- 
tilio Varo. This was in A.D. 9. Compare chap. lv. ; Veil. Paterc, ii., 117 ; 
Dio Cass., lvi., 18. — Juniores. . Those between the ages of seventeen and 
forty-six were commonly called juniores, juvenes, or adolescentes ; those be- 
tween forty -six and sixty, seniores ; and those above sixty, senes, and some- 
times seniores. Again, pueri minores are those under fourteen ; pueri majores s 
those between fourteen and eighteen. Marcellus, at the beginning of this 
chapter, is called admodum adolescens when sevente.er* years old. — Rem pub 
licam. With a stress on the last word; the state, in which all have their 
share ; the commonwealth, which, in and after the civil wars, became the 
booty of individuals (res privata). 

Chap. IV. — Verso, u Being completely changed." — Moris. "Roma* 



CHAP. V.J ANAALS. 26 d 

ipirit," i. e., the spirit of ancient institutions. — Exuta cequalitate. " PoLiti 
cal equality being entirely laid aside." — jEgro et corpore fatigabatur. Ob 
serve that et has here the force of etiam. — Incassum disserere. m Began to 
talk idly about." Observe the force of incassum here. These speeches 
could lead to nothing, because the md libertas was out of the question, and 
the principalis was absolutely necessary to the being of the state. — Immin- 
entes dominos, &c. "Pulled to pieces, in various surmisings, (the charac- 
ters of) the masters that impended over them." Observe the pecuxiar mean- 
ing of diffcrebant here, and how exactly it tallies with a well-known English 
idiom, used in the same sense of handling a person's character rather roughly. 

Agrippam. Agrippa Postumus, the grandson of Augustus. — Ignominia 
accensum. " Exasperated by contumely." Alluding to his banishment.— 
Maturum annis. He was now fifty-five. — Spectatum bello. In his expedi 
tions in Germany. Consult ii., 26. — Claudiae families. Compare Suet., 
Tib., 2. — Quamquam premantur. ''Whatever endeavors may be made to 
repress them." — Hunc et prima, &c. Observe that et has here the force of 
"even." — Congestos .... triumphos. Compare Suet., Tib., 9, 17, 20. — 
Exsulem egerit. Not, indeed, by public edict of the emperor, or decree of 
the senate, but in point of fact ; since, at a later time, notwithstanding his 
supplications, a return to Rome was not granted by Augustus. His resi- 
dence in Rhodes lasted from 6 B.C. to 2 A.D. Some editors propose to 
w.-ite exsul for exsulem, saying that exsulem agere means only " to feign being 
an exile." This, however, is not the case ; such phrases as principem, con- 
sulem agere, are of frequent occurrence, implying the actual performance of 
the duties attendant upon those stations. Still, however, exsul egerit might 
very well be used. 

Aliquid. M Any thing else." For aliud quicquam. — Meditatum. " Had 
he practiced." — Muliebri impotentia. "With all a woman's ungovernable 
spirit," :'. e., with the ungovernable spirit, peculiar to her sex. — Duobus . . . 
adolescentibus. Drusus the actual son, and Germanicus the adopted son 
of Tiberius. — Interim. " For a while." Equivalent here to aliquamdiu. — 
Quandoque. "At some time or other." Equivalent here to quandocunque. 

Chap. V. — Gravcscere valetudo Augusti. " The illness of Augustus grew 
daily more serious." — Scelus uxoris suspect 'abant. Livia was suspected or 
having given some poisoned figs to her husband. (Dio Cass., lvi.. 29, 30.] 
— Incesserat. " Had gone abroad." — Electis consciis et comite uno. *" Having 
singled out a few to whom he communicated his purpose, and with but one 
companion." Observe that electis belongs merely to consciis. — Fabio Max- 
imo. This was Q. Fabius Maximus Africanus, who was consul 10 B.C. He 
is described as the only companion, though in any case several accompanied 
Augustus, because he alone attended the emperor throughout the journey, 
and especially was present at the interview with Agrippa Postumu? . — Spem 
que ex eo. " And that the hope (arose) from this circumstance." 

Marcim. Marcia was the daughter of Marcius Philippus, Augustus's step 
father Plutarch relates the whole story (Hepl adoXeaxicig p. 508, A) 



264 NOTES ON THE [ciIAI*. VI, 

but calls Fabius $g vX8iog. — Gnarum id Cusari. " That fhis became known 
to the emperor." This passive use of gnarus is only found in Tacitus. 
(Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 223.) Ignarus, however, is used passively by 
Virgil, Ovid, and Sallust. For gnarum, in this passage, Muretus conjec- 
tured gnatum to be the true reading. — ^uaesita morte. " By a violent death." 
Qucesita does not determine whether by suicide or in some other way. The 
latter supposition, however, is most probable. — Quod fuisset. Observe the 
force of the subjunctive ; " for having been as she herself said." 

Ingressus Illyricwm. Augustus had sent him thither a few days before 
his death. (Suet., Aug., 97, 98.) — Properis matris Uteris. Observe the sim- 
ilarity of ending, and compare notes on chap. xxiv. — Satis compertum est. 
Velleius Paterculus, the lavish eiilogizer of Tiberius, asserts (ii., 123) that 
v ,he latter found Augustus still alive ; and Suetonius (Tib., 21) affirms that 
the former spent an entire day in private with the dying monarch. Dio, 
however, prefers to doubt with Tacitus (Dio Cass., lvi., 31). — Apud ur- 
bem Nolam. The preposition apud is often employed by Tacitus, as in the 
present instance, with the meaning of " in," not " by," or " beside" a place. 
(Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 64.) — Nolam. Nola was one of the most ancient 
towns in Campania, lying twenty-one Roman miles to the southeast ot 
Capua. — Acribus namque custodiis, &c. Agrippina adopted a similar plan 
on the death of Claudius, in order to secure the throne for her son Nero. 
(Ann., xii., 68.) 

Chap. VI. — Inermum. Another form is inermis. So there are two forms, 
semermus and semermis (iii., 39), exanimus and exanimis, &c. — Quamvis fir- 
matus animo. " Although steeled in bosom for the task," a. e., although he 
had steeled his bosom for the task. — Prasscripsisset. Observe the force of 
the subjunctive. Augustus had enjoined it on the tribune, as he, Tibeiius 
alleged. — Quandoque. "Whenever." For quandocunque. 

Duravit. Supply se. — Nuntianti. The proper word here would have 
been renuntianti, and the re might have been absorbed by the last syllable 
of the preceding word; but Tacitus, who imitates the phraseology of the 
poets, not unfrequently uses simple instead of compound verbs. — Sallustius 
Crispus. The grand nephew of the historian Sallust, and adopted by him. 
He was intimate with Augustus, and from him the as Sallustianum received 
>ts name (ii., 40 ; iii., 30). — Cqdicillos. " The warrant." Consult notes on 
Agricola'chd.]). xl. — Ne reus subderetur. '•' Lest he should be substituted as 
v be accused party." — Juxta pericidoso. " It being alike dangerous." — Ficta 
*eu vera promeret. If he exculpated Tiberius, and took the responsibility 
•ipon himself, he ran the risk of being condemned by the senate ; if, on the 
ofner hand, he accused Tiberius, he would render himself obnoxious to his 
displeasure. 

Ne vulgarentur. " Should not be made matters of public notoriety." — Re 
solverit. "Relax." — Earn. For talem. — Ut non aliter, &c. "That the 
account can not balance in any other way than if it be laid for examination 
Wore a single individual," i. e., can only be balanced by being audited by 



CHAP. Vir.J ANNALS. 265 

a single person. We have here a metaphor taken from accounts. The 
phrase ratio constat is used when the debtor and creditor sides of an account 
balance one another ; and rationem reddere alicui is to lay an account before 
some one for examination. Hence the meaning here is, that the account 
passes as all right only if the ruler himself has the examining or auditing 
of it, because many things must be done such as he alone can approve, oi 
allow to pass, for whose advantage they are done. 

Chap. VII. — At Roma, &c. Tacitus refers to what was passing in the 
capital while Tiberius was coming thither slowly with the coVpse of Au- 
gustus. The words excubias, arma, &c, farther on, show his actual presence 
in Rome. — Ne l&ti. Supply viderentur. Compare remarks of Botticher on 
the style of Tacitus, p. xliv. of this volume. — Tristiores primordio. " Too 
sorrowful at the commencement of a new reign." — Questus. " Lamenta- 
tions," i. «., for the death of Augustus. 

In verba Tiberii Cessans juravere. " Took the oath according to the for- 
mula dictated by Tiberius," i. e., took the oath of allegiance to him. This 
phrase was originally used of soldiers, who swore fidelity to their general. 
The oath of allegiance was first taken under Julius Caesar, and afterward 
under the emperors, as commanders-in-chief of all the armies in the em- 
pire. The formula of it was, " Non me liberosque meos cariores habebo quam 
principem." (Suet.., Cces., 84 ; Cal., 15.) The juramentum in acta princip 
urn, spoken of in i., 72, and iv., 32, is different ; it implied confirming the 
acts and decrees of the emperors. This oath was first taken upon the death 
of Julius Caesar, to ratify his acts ; and next after the battle of Actium, to 
honor Augustus. Under the emperors, it was renewed at the commence- 
ment of each year. (Dio Cass., lx., 10.) 

Seius Strabo. The father of iElius Sejanus (chap. xxiv.). He had the 
government of Egypt granted to him. — Caius Turranius . . . prmfectus . . . 
annonce. He was the first who bore this office. This magistracy was made 
an ordinary one by Augustus, who held it himself till shortly before his 
death, when he appointed Turranius (xi., 31 ; Suet., Aug., 37). — Pretoria- 
rum cohortium prcefectus. These prefects were first appointed by Augustus. 
They were two in number. At this time there was probably no prefect of 
the city. Taurus Statilius was dead, and Piso was not appointed in his 
room until after an interval of some years. 

Nam Tiberius .... incipiebat. No" as if he had given orders to that 
effect ; but by his inactivity ne made it necessary for the consuls, as the 
first officers of the state, to take the initiative. — Tribunicial potestatis prae- 
scriptione. " Under the title of the tribunician authority." The title (TR. 
POT. XVI.), i. e., tribunicios potestatis anno sexto decimo, stood after his name, 
at the head of the address with which the edicts, like letters, began. — Posuit 
For proposuit, as in iv., 27. — Sub Augusto acceptce. Compare chap. iii. 

Consulturum. Supply patres. — Neque abscedere a corpore. These woras 
must be regarded as parenthetical. Tiberius means to say, that filial respect 
werented his leaving the corpse of his parent, and that the assembling of 

M 



266 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. VIII 

the senate was the only one of the tribunicial or senatoria. duties which he 
could bring himself to perform. — Usurpare. " That he tock upon himself.' 

lignum. " The pass-word." Called also tessera. In the time of the 
emperors, this signum was given by word of mouth. Compare xiii., 2 ; 
Suet., Cal., 58 ; Ner., 9. — Cetera aula. " The other appendages of a court." 
These were the lictors, the fasces bound with bay, and whatever else served 
to distinguish the emperor. — Adepto. Taken passively. — Exspectare. " To 
wait for it." 

Dabat et fames. " He allowed report also to have some influence with 
him." After dabat supply aliquid. Hence the literal meaning is, " he gave 
somewhat to report also," i. e., he had an eye to his own reputation or char 
acter. — Per uxorium ambitum, &c. " Through the intrigues of a wife, and 
by adoption from a dotard." The allusion is to Livia and Augustus. — Ad 
introspiciendas. " For penetrating into." — Inductam dubitationem. " That 
this irresolution had been assumed by him." A metaphor borrowed from 
the stage, where the phrase is personam inducere, " to assume a character," 
i. e., to play a part. — In crimen detorquens. ** Warping into a ground for 
"future) accusation."— Recondebat. " He kept storing up in his bosom," 
i. e., against a day of vengeance. 

Chap. VIII. — Passus. Supply est. It is wanting in all the MSS M but, 
strictly speaking, ought to be inserted in the text, and is actually introduced 
by Nipperdey. — De supremis Augusti. " Concerning the last duties to be 
paid to the corpse of Augustus." — Virgines Vestas: It was a common prac- 
tice to deposit wills and other documents of importance, as well as money, 
in temples, especially in that of Vesta. The treaty between Antony and 
Augustus was deposited there. — Assumebatur. The imperfect here implies, 
that Augustus had only expressed a desire that she should be adopted. 
From this time forward, in coins and inscriptions, she is called Julia, rot 
Livia (i., 14; iii., 64; Ovid, Fast., i., 532). — Inspemsecundam,&,c. "In the 
second degree of succession, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren." 
Drusus, Germanicus, and the three sons of the latter. (Suet., Aug., 101.) — 
Sed jactantia gloriaque adposteros. " But (he did this) out of vain-glory and 
for future renown." 

Legata non ultra, &c. " The legacies were not be} r ond the measure of a 
citizen," i. e., did not exceed what might have been looked for from a citizen. 
— Populo ttplebi, &c. u To the public treasury and to the poorer citizens 
forty-three million five hundred thousand sesterces." Supply after quin- 
quies, at the end of the clause, centena millia sestertiorum. Literally, " four 
hundred and thirty-five times a hundred thousand sesterces." Of this sum 
forty millions were to be given to the populus, the remainder to the plebs 
The sum bequeathed to the populus came into the cerarium ; that bequeathed 
to the plebs was distributed among the poorer citizens. For, though the 
citizens who received distributions of corn, &c, are elsewhere called popw 
tut as well as plebs, yet when, as here, the two words are distinguished, the 
usage of the language requires us to understand by the former the peopI# 



CHAP. VIII.] ANNALS. 267 

.ollectiv^ly ; by the latter, the lower orders of the people. What Tacitus 
xpresses by plebi, Suetonius expresses by tribubus, meaning the order ap 
pointed f or the distribution, namely, to the poorer members of each tribe 
and, as there were thirty-five tribes in all, each tribe would receive one 
Hundred thousand sesterces), for a bequest could not be made to any tribe 
for corporation purposes. Under the empire, tribus became almost synony 
mous with plebs, as meaning the lower orders. 

Singula nummum millia. " A thousand sesterces each." Nummum is 
the contracted genitive plural for nummorum, i.e., sestertiorum. — Legionariis 
recenos, &c. The MS. reading here is legionariis aut cohortibus, for which 
we have given the lection in the text, on the authority of the best editors. 
Some read ac for aut. — Cohortibus civium Romanorum. By this are meant 
the cohorts which belonged neither to the praetorians nor to the legionaries, 
though they ranked in all respects with the latter; the only point of diffei- 
ence being that they did not belong to any legion. 

Ex quis maxime insignes visi. " Of which the most noteworthy appeared 
(to be the following)." Compare the explanation of Wolf, " visi sunt hi qui 
statim ponuntur" All that we have to do, therefore, in this much-contested 
passage, is to supply sunt after visi. — Ut porta triumphali, &c. Instead of 
writing censuit after Asinius, Tacitus contents himself with censuere aftei 
Arruntius, as referring in the plural to both speakers. The Porta trium* 
phalis was not a gate, properly speaking, but an arch on the Campus Mar- 
tius. 

Addebat. u Proposed to add." The imperfect marks only the attempt. 
— Messala Valerius. Son of the famous orator Messala Corvinus. — Sacra- 
mentum in nomen Tiberii. "The oath of allegiance to Tiberius." This is 
equivalent to the sacramentum in verba, though it is not exactly the same 
thing. The latter implies that the imperator dictated the words of the oath ; 
the former merely that his name was inserted in it. The soldiers renewed 
their oath of allegiance to their general every year. — Ea sola species adu- 
landi, &c. " This was the only form of flattery which remained," i. <?., which 
had not been exhausted. It was flattery under the cloak of free-spokenness. 

Remisit. "Finally granted their request." Remittere, in its original 
sense, implies letting go, or letting loose, a cord that has been tightly stretch- 
ed. Here it implies that, after a show of resistance, Tiberius suffered him- 
self to be prevailed upon to grant their wishes. — Arroganti moderations 
His arrogance was shown in his regarding the honor as one rendered only 
to himself, and therefore pretending for a while to decline it ; and with this 
was coupled a show of moderation, in giving his consent to a measure which 
he might have forbidden at once. — Campo Martis, sede destinata. The al- 
lusion is to the mausoleum built by him in the Campus Martius, between 
the bank of the Tiber and the Via Flaminia, called (iii., 4 and 9) " tumulus 
Augusti" and " tumulus Caesarum." In a grove behind it was the ustrina, 
W the place where the corpses were burned. 

Diem ilium crudi, &c. " That day of slavery as yet crude, and of liberty 
unsuccessfully sought to be reclaimed," i. e., that memorable day when the 



268 NOTES ON THE » [CHAP. IX., X 

wound of slavery had not yet healed, and the recovery of freedom had bee* 
attempted without success. — Occisus Casar. Equivalent to Occisio Casaris 
Compare " Occisus Augusti pronepos" (i., 42). — In rempublicam. M Against 
the state," i. e., for its enslavement. — Scilicet. "Forsooth." Ironical. — 
Tuendum. Taken passively. 

Chap. IX. — Vana. " Things of no importance," — Idem dies, &c. Here 
and in the Dial, de Or., 17, his reign is dated from his first consulship, Aug. 
19th, B.C. 43. Others reckoned from the battle of Actium, Sept. 2d, B.C. 
31 ; others, again, from his seventh consulship, when the imperium was con- 
firmed to him by the senate, and the cognomen of Augustus was given him. 
B.C. 27. — Finivisset. The subjunctive, as giving the assertion of another, 
not of the writer himself. — Numerus consulatuum. He was consul thirteen 
times. Valerius Corvus, six times ; Caius Marius, seven times. — Nomen 
imperatoris. " The title of imperator," bestowed, according to the ancient 
custom, on account of victories gained by himself personally, or by his 
generals. 

Hi. Supply dicebant. — Parentem. His adoptive father, Julius Caesar. 
—Per bonas artes. " By means strictly commendable." — Dum interfectores, 
&c. " Provided he might take vengeance upon the murderers of his father," 
i. «., of Caesar, as above. Dum marks the condition upon which these con 
cessions were made. 2 — Socordia senuerit. " Had become enfeebled by sloth." 
Senescere implies the loss of strength and vigor. — Non regno tamen, &e. 
* That the government, however, had been established by him, not in the 
Drm of a kingdom or a dictatorship, but merely under the title of prince." 
~-Mari oceano. " By the ocean." Oceanus is sometimes used as an ad- 
jective. Compare Coes., B. G., lii., 7 : " Mare oceanum." 

Legiones, provincias, &c. These words refer to the greater centralization 
or the military and provincial administration, the former of which he took 
entirely, the latter in the chief provinces, under his own supreme direction 
to the suitable posting of standing armies and fleets, the fixing of single mil 
itary stations, the making of roads, and the establishment of governmen 
couriers, of the two last of which Suetonius speaks (Aug. 30 and 49).— 
Modestiam. " A moderate exercise of authority." — Urbem ipsam magnified 
ornatu. Augustus introduced great improvements into all parts of the city 
and both erected many public buildings himself, and induced all the lead 
ing nobles of his court to follow his example. So greatly had the appear- 
ance of the city improved during his long and prosperous reign, that he use* 
to boast that he had found Rome of brick and had left it of marble. (Suet s 
Aug., 28.) 

Chap. X, — Tempora. "The exigencies." — Obtentui. "As a mere 
cloak." — Ceterum. " That in reality, however." Literally, "for the rest, 
i. c, what remains after deducting the obtentus, or " cloak ;" and therefor^ 
"in reality." — Consulis legiones. The fourth legion, and the legio Martia, 
two out of four belonging to the consul Antonius. (Dio Cass., xlr M 13 



CHAP. X.] AXXALS. 2(59 

Cic, Phil., iv., 2.) — Simulatam Pompeianarum, &c. "An attachment to 
the Pompeian party had been feigned by him." Compare Suet., Aug., 10, 
12 — Jus pr&toris. He became propraetor. (Cic, Phil., v., 16, 45.) — .16* 
tulerat. When nouns of different numbers and genders form the subject 
of a sentence, the number and gender of the predicate are commonly de 
termined by those of the nearest noun of the subject. — Occupavisse. u He 
had seized upon." 

Invito senatu. The dative. It rested with the senate, which at that time 
directed all things, whether it would admit Octavianus, in spite of the legal 
impediments, as a candidate for the consuTship. — Acceperit. Muretus con- 
jectures acceperat, but this would make i^a direct assertion on the part of 
Tacitus, not one merely on the part of the speaker. — Nt ipsis quidem, &c. 
These words refer to both the proscriptions and the divisions of lands. The 
triumvirs themselves could never praise them, but could only seek to excuse 
them under the plea of necessity. — Sane Cassii et Brutorum exitus, 6zc. 
" That the deaths of Cassius and the Bruti were, it must be admitted, offered 
(as sacrifices) to a fathers enmities," i. e., to his father's hatred of them. 
By the Bruti are meant M. Junius Brutus and Brutus Albinus. — Remittere. 
" To give up." — Pompeium. Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey the Great. 
— Post Antonium. "That Antony subsequently." — Illectum. "Having 
been entrapped." The treaty of Brundisium was made 40 B.C., that of Ta 
rentum 37 B.C. Tacitus mentions them in the inverse order, for the pur 
pose of connecting the former with the marriage of Antony and Octavia, 
which was meant to strengthen the league. 

Lollianas Yarianasque clades. " That there were the disastrous over- 
throws of Lollius and of Varus." M. Lollius was defeated in B.C. 16, in 
Westphalia. Quintilius Varus was overthrown by the celebrated Arminius, 
B.C. 9. — Yarrones, Egnatios, lidos. The plural is frequently used in this 
rhetorical way for the singular. Varro Muraena and Egnatius Rufus formed 
conspiracies against Augustus, the former 22 B.C., the latter 19 B.C. An- 
tonius lulus, son of the triumvir and Fulvia, was convicted of adultery with 
Julia, and was also suspected of aiming at the supremacy. — Abducta Xeroni 
uxor. To the nominative here we must supply a commemorabatxir from the 
preced /g negative expression. Tiberius Xero, 33 B.C., seemingly of his 
own free will, resigned his wife Livia to Augustus. She was then pregnant 
with her second son Drusus. (Yell Paterc, ii., 79; Suet., Tib., 4.) — Q. 
Tedii. Of this individual nothing is known. Some suspect here an error 
in the text. — Yedii Pollionis. Vedius Pollio was a Roman knight, and a 
monster of debauchery. He fattened his lampreys with slaves thrown alive 
into his ponds. (Sen. de Clem., i., 13; Id. de Ira, iii., 40; Plin., H. X, 
23, 39.) 

Cum se templis, d:c. Not by the Roman citizens, but by the provincials, 
as Xipperdey correctly remarks, and that, too, only in connection with Roma. 
For so it is to be understood, when Suetonius (Aug., 52, 59) ana Dio Cas 
sius (li., 20) relate that Augustus permitted this only in the provinces, not 
in Rome and Italy. This religious worship, therefore, must not be coii* 






270 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XI., XIL 

founded with the divine honors paid to Augustus by the whole state after 
his decease. Observe that vellet is an invidious exaggeration ; in truth, he 
only permitted it. — Comparatione deterrima. " By a comparison the mos; 
worthless." It is not the comparison, in fact, but the conduct of Augustus 
himself which is thus stigmatized, for giving them such a successor merely 
for the sake of comparison, and as a foil to himself. 

Postularet. For the third time. Consult notes on chap. iii. — Honora. 
" Complimentary." — De habitu, cultuque, et institutis ejus. " Concerning his 
carriage, and personal habits, and principles." Compare the account given 
of him by Suetonius : " Incedebat cervice rigida et obstipa ; adducto fere vultu t 
plerumque tacitus : nullo aut rari^imo etiam cum proximis sermoiie, eoque tar- 
dissimo, nee sine molli quadam digitorum gesticulatione." (Suet., Tib., 68.) — 
Quae exprobraret. For ut ea exprobraret. 

Chap. XL — Ccelestes religiones. " Divine worship." In the Calendarium 
Amiterninum, these ccelestes honores are said to have been decreed on the 
19th of September. — Varie. "Evasively." More literally, "in varying 
tone." — Sua modestia. " His own consciousness of incompetency." Not 
the incompetency itself. — In partem curarum. " To a participation of his 
(public) cares." — Non ad unum. Not ne, because of the antithesis under- 
stood, sed ad plures, which in fact follows in a different form.- — Munia rei 
publicce exsecuturos. "Would discharge the functions of the public admin- 
istration." 

Dignitatis quam fidei. " Of dignity of sentiment than of sincerity." — 
Suspensa. "Undecided." — In incertum. " In uncertainty." The accu- 
sative with in, as denoting the result, actual or intended. Equivalent, in 
fact, to " so that there resulted," &c. — Effigiem Augusti. This was in the 
palace on the Palatine Hill, in which the senate assembled. Compare ii., 
37. — Libellum. "The imperial register." Suetonius calls it rationarium 
or breviarium imperii. (Suet., Aug., 28, 101.) — Recitari. By Drusus. (Dio 
Cass., lvi., 33.) 

Opes publicce. " A summary of the public resources." — Tributa. " Di- 
rect taxes," i. e. } taxes upon persons and property. — -Vectigalia. " Indirect 
taxes," i. e., money raised by the customs, tithes, and letting of the public 
lands. — Necessitates. "The necessary public expenditures." Livy (xxiii., 
48) uses the word in the same sense. — Terminos. The Euphrates, the 
Danube, the Rhine, and the Ocean. — Metu. According to Dio Cassius 
(lvi., 33), Augustus himself expressed a fear that, in attempting to extend 
their conquests, they might lose what had been already acquired. 

Chap. XII. — Ad injimas obtestationes procumbente. "Stooping to the 
most humiliating importunities." Procumbente is here used figuratively, 
and yet does not exclude the actual genuflections mentioned by Suetonius 
( Tib., 21). — Qucecumque pars. Tiberius made a three-fold division of it : the 
nrst section comprising Rome and Italy ; the second, the armies ; the third, 
t&« provinces (Dio Cass., lvii., 2.) — Asinius Gallus. The son of C. Asin 



CHAP. XIII., XIV.] ANNALS. 27 A 

ius Pollio, the friend of Augustus and Horace, whc was prefect of Gaul 
in B.C. 42, consul in B.C. 40, and proconsul in B.C. 39. Asinius Gallus, 
the son, was consul in B.C. 8. — Perculsus. " Confounded." — Collecto animo, 
" Having recovered himself." — Pudori. " Modesty." — Cui excusari mallet. 
A. construction which does not elsewhere occur. — Laudem. As laus here 
denotes a laudatory speech, it takes the ablative with de. 

In toga. " In a civil capacity." Compare Ann., xi., 7. — Ideo. " Even 
thus." — Vipsania. Her mother was the daughter of Atticus, the friend of 
Cicero. Tiberius was obliged to part with her, when, upon the wish of 
Augustus, 11 B.C., he married Julia, that emperor's daughter. Vipsania 
was the mother of the younger Drusus.— Civilia. "What suited the con- 
dition of a subject." — Ferociam. " The haughty spirit." 

Chap. XIIL — Post quas. Tacitus frequently uses the relative in this 
manner. Cicero or Livy would have used postea. — Promtum. " Enterpris- 
ing.'^ — Pari fama publice. " Of equal reputation with the people at large." 
His reputation with the people was as high as his personal qualities. — 
Suffecturi. " Though they would be able to fill it." — Impares. " Though 
unequal to it."— M. Lepidum. M. ^Emilius Lepidus, son of JEmilius Pa«l- 
us, was consul A.D. 6. Some editors have erroneously substituted here 
the name of Manius ^Emilius Lepidus, the son of Q. Lepidus, who was 
consul A.D. 11, and afterward proconsul of Asia; a man of no wealth, and 
of bad character. — Avidum et minorem. "Was aspiring, but of inferior 
talents." Et is frequently thus used where we should have expected sed. 
— Arruntium. Arruntius was consul in A.D. 6, and was an orator and an 
historian. He killed himself in A.D. 37. 

Cn. Pisonem. Not the consul in B. C. 23, but his son. Consul in 
B.C. 7, with Tiberius, who, in A.D. 17, made him governor of Syria. — Om- 
nesque prater Lepidum, &c. Observe the employment of omnes for only 
two, since the words of Tacitus refer merely to the account that Augustus 
nad named Lepidus, Asinius, and Arruntius. Tiberius had no hand what- 
ever in the fall of Piso. — Non adesse caput reipublicas. Although Tiberius 
seemingly hesitated to be the head of the state, he did not choose that any 
man should seriously believe that he was not so, and that another should ob- 
tain the post of princeps. — Quod relationi consulum, &c. " Because he (Ti- 
berius) had not, by the right of the tribunician authority, put his veto on 
the motion of the consuls." The consuls had moved that Tiberius should 
assume the principatus, which of course was the occasion of this discus 
sion, as Tacitus takes for granted the reader will understand. 

Genua advolvsretur. There is a tendency to put the dative after middle 
verbs; but advalvi seems to have come to signify nothing more than "to 
embrace." — Auxustam. Livia. Consult notes on chap. viii. — Curatissimis. 
" Most earnest." In the sense of accuratissimis. Post- Augustan Latinity 

Chap. XIV. — Moderandos feminarum honores. "That public honors in 
4ie case of females ought to be bestowed with moderation." — Ceterum 



272 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XV,, XV! 

Consult notes on chap. x. — Muliebre fastigium. "The elevation of « 
woman." — Ne lictorem quidem, &c. Livia was allowed, however, to employ 
a lictor when she acted as priestess of Augustus. (Dio Cass., lvi., 46.) — 
Aramque adoptionis. This must be referred to the adoption of Livia (chap, 
viii.). Altars were frequently thus erected to perpetuate the memory of some 
remarkable event. 

Proconsulate imperium. Tacitus means a perpetual proconsular imperi 
um, which would give the young prince a title to the throne. Three years 
before this, in A.D. 11, Germanicus had been invested with the proconsular 
imperium for carrying on war, before he had filled the office of consul. (Dio 
Cass., lvi., 25.) — Candidatos prcsturee, &c. Whoever wished to be candi- 
date for an office intimated his wish to the emperor, who named to the 
senate or the consuls those who had given in their names to him. If he 
passed by any, this was a tacit command for that person to desist. He 
might, therefore, have named more than twelve, even if he chose to have 
only this number elected ; that he nominated no more than were of late 
elected was a token that he meant to abide by that number. — Obstrinxit. 
The following se belongs to the accusative, with the infinitive. Another se 
is, understood with obstrinxit. 

Chap. XV. — Turn primum, &c. The election of all the magistrates now 
passed over to the senate from the people ; or, in the words of Tacitus, the 
assemblies for electing magistrates were transferred from the Campus Mar 
tius to the senate. Compare Veil. Paterc, ii., 126 : " Summota eforo sed 
itio, ambitio campoP — Studiis. "In compliance with the wishes." — Inan 
rumore. " According to idle rumor." There was a rumor that the peopl 
complained, but the people did not. — Tenuit. li Clung to the privilege con 
ferred upon them." With the exception of those who sought the quaestor 
ship, all candidates for office were senators. Hence the language of th»- 
text, libens tenuit. — Moderante. " Restricting himself." — Ambitu. " Can 
vassing." 

Inter quad. For inter ea ; like post qua above, for postea. — Fastis additi. 
" Being added to the calendar," i. e., being recognized as yearly games to 
be solemnized by the state. In the old calendars, we find the 12th of Octo- 
ber (a. d. iv Id. Oct.) marked as the day of their celebration. — XJtque, This 
sentence depends upon decretum est, which must be understood from decreta. 
— Curru. The praetors, in presiding at the games, had, besides the tri- 
umphal robe, or toga picta, the chariot also. Compare Juv., xi., 191. — 
Annua. The MS. reading is annum, which gives no sense. Some alter 
this to annua, others to annuum ; the former is the better correction. The 
praetors would be elected annually, as a matter of course ; and the position 
of the word would render annuum unnecessarily emphatic. 

Chap. XVI. — Seditio incessit. " A seditious spirit came upon." — Muta 
tus princeps. For mutatio principis. — Licentiam turbarum. M Impunity loi 
disturbances." — >Ostendebat. " Seemed to promise." — Junto Blceso. Bl» 



CHAP. XVII.] ANNAL3. 273 

sus was acting as legatuspro prcetore. Compare chap, iviii. — Initiis. 4 * The 
accession." — Ob justitium aut gaudium. " On account of the public mourn 
ing (in the one case), or the public joy (in the other)." The justitium was 
on account of the death of Augustus ; the gaudium on account ot the ac- 
cession of Tiberius. Muretus, Wolf, and other critics, suppose the words 
aut gaudium to be an interpolation. 

Theatralium operarum. " Of theatrical factions." The term operas is ap- 
plied in the Latin writers to men hired for any purpose. So the gladiators 
employed by Clodius are called Clodiana opera (Cic, adAtt., i., 13, 14 ; iv., 
3). The opera theatrales were persons hired to back some particular actor, 
and hiss the others. Frequent disturbances arose in the theatre from the 
contests of rival parties of these opera. — Et miscere ccetus, &c. "And well 
qualified, from his experience in theatrical party zeal, to stir up bodies of 
men," i. e., the bad passions of a crowd. — Conditio. Supply futura sit. — 
Et dilapsis melioribus. " And when the better disposed had retired to their 
respective quarters." — Promiis jam et aliis, &c. "When other ministers 
of sedition also were now at hand (to second his designs)." 

Chap. XVII. — Paucis centurionibus, paucioribus tribunis. In every legion 
there were sixty centurions and six tribunes. A legion contained ten co- 
horts, thirty maniples, and sixty centuries. — Ausuros. In the oratio directa, 
audebimus. (Madvig, $ 405.). — Nutantem. "Tottering on his throne." — 
Tricena aut quadragena stipendia. Formerly the regular period for military 
service was ten years for the cavalry, and sixteen or twenty for the infantry, 
and one who had served that number of years, between the ages of seven- 
teen and forty-six or fifty, was called emeritus or veteranus. But in B.C. 13, 
Augustus fixed the period of service for the praetorian soldiers at twelve, and 
for the rest at sixteen years. Seventeen years afterward, the term was 
altered to sixteen years in the case of the former, and twenty in that of the 
latter. Percennius here exaggerates the length of their service. 

Retentos. A conjectural reading, first given by Beroaldus, and followed 
subsequently by many editors. In the MS. there is a t at the end of one 
lin?, and tentes at the beginning of the next. Some, therefore, read tendentes, 
and this word is applied to soldiers in a tent (tendentes tentoria).—Alio voc- 
ahulo. They were called vexillarii. — Eosdem labor es. This hardship was 
afterward alleviated. Compare chap, xxxvi. — Adhuc. " In addition to this." 
— Uligines paludum vtl inculta montium. " Swampy fens or mountain 
wastes." 

Denis in diem assibus. In the first ages of the republic, the soldiers served 
at their own expense. In A.U.C. 347, it was decreed that they should re- 
ceive pay from the public treasury (Liv., iv., 59). This amounted at first 
to three asses and a third a day. (Niebuhr, Rom. Hist., iii., p. 439, transl.) 
The centurions received twice, and the cavalry three times that sum. 
Caesar doubled tt e pay of the soldiers (Suet., C<es. f 26). — Hinc vestem, arma, 
&c. From this it would appear that when the pay of the soldiers was 
doubled, the law of Gracchus, oTdaining tbafc clothes should be given gratU 

12 



274 NOTES ON THE [CH A P. XVIII. 

to the soldiers, was abrogated. This law, however, would appear to have 
been revived by some of the succeeding emperors. (Compare Lampnd., 
Alex., 40). The soldiers, however, had to provide themselves with arms. 
(Liv., i., 43.) 

Exercitas (Estates. "Laborious summers." — Ut singulos denarios mere- 
rent. The denarius was originally ten pounds of aes (bronze). In the 
time of the second Punic war, when the as was only an ounce, the dena- 
rius was equivalent to sixteen asses ; and the sestertius, which was two 
and a half asses, when the denarius was ten asses, still maintained its pro- 
portion to the denarius, and was valued at four asses. After the reign of 
Augustus, the value of the denarius was twelve asses. In the case of tho 
soldiers, however, the denarius retained its original value : though their pay 
was nominally a denarius a day, they received only ten asses. (Plin., II. 
N. t xxxiii., 3.) 

Binos denarios. According to Dio Cassius (liii,. 11), the senate decreed 
that the praetorian guards should receive twice as much pay as the rest of 
the forces. According to this, they received twenty asses a day. Either, 
then, Percennius uses the word denarius, according to the military valuation, 
and therefore in a sense different from that which it bears in the previous 
sentence, or else he intended his auditors to understand him as speaking 
of the ordinary denarius, in order to make the matter more flagrant. It is 
probable, also, that though their pay was twenty asses, the emperor allowed 
them two ordinary denarii. 

Post sedecim annos. Augustus, when obliged to court the favor of the 
praetorian soldiers, fixed the term for military service at twelve years in 
their case, and sixteen in that of others. (Dio Cass., liv., 25.) But in 
A.I3.C. 758, the time was altered to sixteen years in the former case, and 
twenty in the latter ; and, at the same time, their pay was increased. (Dio 
Cass., lv., 23.) — Non obtrectari. "Were not sought to be disparaged." — 
Apud horridas gentes. " (Serving) among savage nations." 

Chap. XVIII, — Adstrepebat vulgus, " The crowd shouted assent." — Ex* 
probrantes. " Pointing reproachfully to," i. e., pointing to and telling of in 
bitter reproach. — Ut tres legiones in unam miscere agitaverint. "That they 
proposed to incorporate the three legions into one," i. e., in order to make 
it impossible to separate them, and to distinguish which of them was most 
concerned in the mutiny. This incorporation would have been an act of 
impiety : the signa were objects of religious reverence, and at night were 
placed in a kind of shrine or temple. And, besides, the throwing away of 
their standards would have been a violation of their military oath, by which 
they bound themselves never to desert them. 

JEmulatione. " By a feeling of jealousy." — Alio vertunt. " They turn 
their thoughts in a different direction." Observe the middle force of verto. 
— Signa cohortium. There is a dispute whether we are here to understand 
the standards of the maniples, or are to suppose that the cohorts had stand 
ards distinc: from those of the maniples. In former ages, when the arm 






CHAF. Xr.X., XX.J ANNALS. 275 

wis drawn up by maniples, without any distinction of cohorts, thtre were 
of course, no standards for the cohorts. But when it became the custom to 
arrange the legion by cohorts, standards to mark the different maniples 
would be unnecessary. Hence Vegetius (ii., 13) mentions the standards 
of the legions and cohorts, but says nothing of any standards for the mani- 
ples ; and Germanicus (chap, xxxiv.), when bidding the soldiers depart to 
their maniples, orders M Signa praferri, ut id saltern discerneret cohortes." 

Congerunt cespites. " They bring together pieces of turf," i. e., in order to 
form a tribunal. The tribunal in the camp was generally of turf, but some- 
times, in a stationary camp, of stone. From it the general addressed the 
soldiers, and here the consuls and the tribunes of the soldiers administered 
justice. When the general addressed the army from it, the standards were 
placed in front, and the army stood around it in order. — Sedes. " The place 
speaker." — Properantibus advenit. ''Came up to them while hurry- 
ing on the work." Properantibus is the dative. — Retinebat singulos, " Tried 
to hold them back individually." Observe the force of the imperfect. — In- 
columis. " While alive.'' 

Chap. XIX. — Aggerebatur. ''Was all the while getting brought." — Pec- 
tori. Tacitus frequently uses the dative, where other writers would have 
employed ad with the accusative. — Pervicacia. u By his importunity." — 
Veteres. " The soldiers of old." — Tarn nova. "Things so novel in their 
rharacter." — Parum in tempore. "That it was most inopportune." — Ten- 
derent tentare. " They meant to try to gain." Tenderent is for the indic- 
ative future of the oratio directa ; just as the subjunctive of the pluperfect 
the place of the futurum exactum. (Madvig, ' 404.) 

Filius Blczsi. Compare chap. xxix. ; iii., 74; and vi., 40. — Legatione ea 
fungeretur. "Should discharge that office of delegate." — Provenissent. 
u Should have been forthcoming," i. e., should have succeeded. — Orator. 
u As t'ne advocate." — Obtinuissent. Expressing mere possibility, and hence 
equivalent here to obtinere potuissent. 

Chap. XX. — Nauportum. Xauportus was a town of Pannonia, on a river 
of the same name, a tributary of the Savus. It fell into decay after the 
founding of .Emona. now Laibach, which was only fifteen miles from it. — 
hcnt. It is doubtful whether this means "tear to pieces," or "tear 
up from the ground ;" the latter is probably the signification here. The 
word commonly used, however, for " to tear up" is evellere. — Municipii instar. 
Not merely an oppidum, because Roman citizens dwelt there. — Retinentes. 
"Trying to restrain them." — Prczfecium castrorum. The prefect of the 
camp is an officer not spoken of before the times of the emperors. He is 
first mentioned in the reign of Augustus. There was one to each lesion. 
According to Vegetius (ii., 10), it was his duty to attend to all matters con- 
nected taking of a camp, such" as the vaUum, fossa, &c , and also 
fhe internal economy of it. — An libenter ferret. "Whether he bore with 
pi easure," i. e., how^he liked. 



276 



NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXI., XXtl* 






Revocabat. "Strove to recall." The force of the imperfect. — Intentus 
operis ac laboris. " Intent on heavy work (in the case of the soldiery)," i. c, 
looking sharp after the labor of the soldiers. Intentus operi ac labori would 
have implied that he was himself engaged m the labor. Observe the hen- 
diadys in operis ac laboris. We have given intentus here with some of the 
best editors. The MS. has intus, which makes no sense. Many editors 
suggest vetus. The expression vetus, " inured to," would imply that he 
had for a long time endured heavy toil, and was doing so still, which mean- 
ing does not suit this passage. — Toleraverat. "He had once endured it 
himself." 

Chap. XXI. — Nam etiam turn, &c. At a later period of the mutiny, the 
centurions were forced to flee (chap, xxiii.) ; the remaining well-disposed 
persons did not dare to act. — Manipularium. "Of the common soldiers." 
Manipularis is the common soldier of the legion, in opposition to the officers 
of the legion ; gregarius to the officers of the- whole army ; legionarius to the 
allies. — Centuriam. The maniple is not invoked, because the second cen- 
tury (two centuries forming a maniple, as already remarked) would not 
add much to the succor. — Nihil reliqui faciunt. " They leave nothing un- 
tried." — Permoverent. The employment of permoveo with the accusative of 
the affection is a late usage. Observe, moreover, the historic present, fa- 
ciunt, followed by the imperfect subjunctive. — Sibi jam miscent. Observe 
the force of jam, denoting that the mutiny had at last reached such a pitch 
that they allowed even deserters and criminals to join them. 



Chap. XXII. — Flagrantior. " Blazed forth with greater fury." Supply 
erai. — His innocentibus et miserrimis. Those who had just been released 
from confinement. — A Germanico exercitu. This was actually at the same 
time in an uproar (chap, xxxi., seqq.). But Tacitus makes it an invention of 
Vibulenus's that the German army was putting forward the same demands ; 
for, if intelligence to that effect had been received, this was too important 
to have been omitted by Tacitus. — De communibus commodis. The com- 
mon interests of the German and Pannonian armies. — Gladiatores suos. 
The procurators and other provincial magistrates were accustomed to main- 
tain bodies of gladiators for the purpose of exhibiting public shows while 
abroad. As these expensive exhibitions led to acts of extortion, and the 
oppression of the provincials, the practice was forbidden by Nero (xiii, 31). 
In the present instance, moreover, these gladiators might serve as a sort of 
body-guard, to protect the general against the violence of the soldiers, which 
perhaps explains what follows : " quos in exitium militum," &c. 

Ubi. Not "whither," but "where," because the person throwing the 
corpse is represented not as flinging it to a distance from the place where 
he was, but as throwing it down at the place itself. It is the same, there- 
fore, as saying, "Where have you left it flung away?" — Sepultura in- 
vident. We should have expected the accusative, but the ablative is not 
unfrequent. Compare notes on chap, xxxiii., of the Germania. — Bum. For 



CHAP XXIII., XXIV.J ANNALS. 277 

dummodo. — Hi. This is the reading of Muretus and Lipsius. The MS. 
has ii. 

Chap. XXIII. — Incendebat hac. " He rendered these words still more 
inflammatory." — Disjectis. " Those having been pushed aside." Supply 
iis. — Qui e servitio Blaesi erant. "Who formed a portion of the slaves of 
Blaesus." — Familiam. " Slave-band." — Haud multum ab exitio, &c. Ob 
serve the employment of the imperfect indicative after ni with the sub- 
junctive. The expression is, in fact, an elliptical- one ; the full form being, 
* haud multum ab exitio legati aberant, et revera exitio Me occubuissety Com- 
pare Zumpt, $ 519, b. In English, however, we commonly render it at once 
by the pluperfect subjuncthe. 

Prcefectum castrorum. Consult notes on chap. xx. — Cedo alteram. 
" Give me another." (Zumpt, $ 223.) — Fracta vite. The centurions' badge 
of office, with which they inflicted corporeal punishment, was a vine sap- 
ling. — Promtum ingenium. " His prompt capacity." — Sirpicum. Sirpicus 
is a nickname, just like Cedo alteram. The meaning, however, is obscure ■ 
it may be connected, as Nipperdey remarks, with sirpare, " to twist," or 
" plat," whence sirpiculus, " a platted basket ;" or with sirpe, the plant 
which produces the asafcetida. As an actual proper name it nowhere oc- 
curs. — Ni .... interjecisset. " And they would have come to open collision, 
had not," &c. Consult notes on chap. xiii., of the Agricola. 

Chap. XXIV. — Abstrusum. "Reserved." — Tristissima quceque. "All 
events of a most disastrous nature." — Nullis satis certis mandatis. Observe 
the similarity of ending, on which we have already remarked. — Ex re con- 
sulturum. " To take measures according to the exigencies of the case." — 
Robora Germanorum. " The flower of the German troops." After the de- 
feat of Varus, Augustus had dismissed his German guards ; but it appears 
that Tiberius had again taken them into his service. (Suet., Aug., 49.) — 
JElius Sejanus. This is the individual who afterward became the con- 
fidant and prime minister of Tiberius. Consult iv., 1. — Straboni patri. He 
was joined with his father, Seius Strabo, in the command of the prastorian 
guards. As regards Strabo, consult chap. vii. — Rector juveni, &c. "(Is 
also sent) as governor to the young prince, and a pointer out of dangers and 
rewards unto the rest." Pointing out, namely, what dangers would await 
the rebellious, and what rewards would be bestowed upon those who re- 
turned to their duty. This is Wolf's explanation, and appears to be the 
most natural. Nipperdey and others, however, explain the passage differ- 
ently. According to them, he was to show the rest who* were sent with 
Drusus, how they should bear themselves in dangers, and what rewards 
they were to expect ; and he was to show the latter even in his own per- 
son, since, though of low birth, he had risen to a position of the highest 
dignity. 

Per officium. "To show respect." — Neque insignibus fulgentes. "Nor 
glittering vith military decorations." These would be the ornaments ol 






278 NOTES ON THE [cHAP. XXV.— XXVII, 

their arms, fhe adornment of the standards with bay and flowers, &c. ~ 
Sed illuvie deformi. " But in disfiguring want of cleanliness." 

Chap. XXV. — Stationibus. The term stationes is used specially to de- 
note the advanced posts thrown forward and in front of the gates. — Siabai 
Drusus. " There stood Drusus." — Retulerant. Because the most, and es- 
pecially the leaders, who stood in front in order to overlook the multitude, 
were obliged to turn round. — Vocibus truculentis strepere. " Spoke loud, in 
tones of fierce insolence." — Murmur incertum. " A hollow and inarticulate 
murmur." — Diversis motibus. u According to the different impulses." 

Quibuscum . . . toleravisset. In the years 12-9 B.C., and again 6-9 A.D., 
against the Pannonians and Dalmatians. Observe the employment of the 
subjunctive to denote the sentiments and language of another, and not of the 
writer. — Quern neque gratia, &c. " Who it was fitting should be regarded as 
devoid neither of clemency nor severity." A covert exhortation so to de- 
mean themselves that they should not have to expect punishment. The 
odium of menace is adroitly avoided by putting forward the senate, and by 
a mixture of hope from the clemency of that body. 

Chap. XXVI. — Perferret. Because, in giving him the instructions (chap, 
xxiii.), it was supposed that he would have to go to Rome to execute them. 
— Arbitrium senatus et patris. " The power of deciding vested solely in the 
senate and his father," i. e., that it belonged only to the senate and his father 
to determine these matters. — Augendis stipendiis. The gerundive to denote 
a destination or purpose. (Madvig, § 415, 2.) — Benefaciendi. " Of allevia- 
ting their grievances." — Filios familiarum. These, being in patria potestate, 
possessed, according to the Roman law, no property, and therefore also had 
no right to give away any thing. In the present instance, the term is em- 
ployed figuratively, to denote their incapacity for granting any demands. — 
Sub dominis. " Under the control of many masters." — Sine arbitro. " With- 
out any mediator," i. e., without any one to whom to appeal. 

Chap. XXVII. — Ut. " As often as." Joined here with the subjunctive, 
occurreret, to denote a repeated act. This is the practice of later writers. 
The older ones, such as Cicero, Caesar, and Sallust, commonly use the in- 
dicative. (Madvig, § 359.) — Manus intentantes. "Stretching out theit 
hands toward them in a menacing manner." — Causam discordice, &c. Ap- 
positions to entire sentences or phrases (here manus intentantes) stand in 
the accusative when the verb of the sentence or of the phrase denotes an 
action. The accusative is dependent on the general notion of the facere 
implied in the verb, and denotes as well the effect as the purpose of the ac- 
tion, just as with many verbs there is a double accusative. Tacitus has 
carried this appos.tion to the same length as the Greeks (Matthias, $ 432, 5; 
* Kiihner, *) 500) ; Cicero uses it more sparingly. 

Cn. Lentulo. His full name was Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Cossus Gcetuli' 
$ut. He was consul in B.C. 1, and in A.D. 6 was sent into Africa, where h 



CHAP. XXVIII.] ANNALS. 279 

defeated the Gaetuli, whence his surname. His son of the same name, a 
poet an<l historian, who was consul A.D. 26, was put to death by Caligula, 
after having been governor of Upper Germany for ten years. Caligula feared 
his great popularity with the soldiers. 

Ante alios. To be construed with cetate et gloria belli, not, as Nipperdey 
maintains, with jirmare. — Firmare Drusum. " To be encouraging Drusus," 
i. e., to resist the demands of the soldiery. — Militia flagitia. "Flagrant 
violations of military duty." — Digredientem cum Casare, &c. Drusus ac- 
companied him, in order to betake himself to the camp of his troops. But 
he was hindered from proceeding by the tumult : hence, chap, xxviii., quous- 
quefilium imperatoris obsidebimus? Drusus had come into the camp of the 
legions with only a part of his escort, the before-mentioned prcstoriani milites 
and amici Ccesaris, and below, multitudinis quae cum Druso advenerat. That 
the troops accompanying Drusus had a camp by themselves Tacitus has 
not mentioned, only because it would be understood, of course, that nei- 
ther the camp of the legions would hold them, nor would these have admit- 
ted them. 

Chap. XXVIII. — Languescere. According to the calculations of Petavi- 
as, this eclipse happened September 26, A.D. 14. — Accipiebat. We have 
adopted here the emendation of Wopkens, approved of by Wolf. The com- 
mon text has accepit, ac, &c, but the presence of ac disturbs the sentence, 
and produces an anacoluthon. Some editors read accepit merely, and throw 
out ac. Others have accepit, hanc. — Qua pergerent. "Which they were 
striving after." Pergere is here used with the accusative, just asfestinare 
(iv., 28 ; vi., 40, &c.) and properare (i., 18 ; ii., 6, &c). There is nothing 
surprising in pergo being used with an accusative, when we remember that 
it is a compound of per and the transitive verb rego. (Botticher, Lex. Tac, 
p. 19.) There is no need, therefore, of changing quce to qua, as Nipperdey 
does, nor of reading, with others, peterent instead of pergerent. — Aeris sono. 
According to the popular belief, that the moon was aided by such noises in 
resisting the evil influence that was acting upon her, and in regaining her 
light. — TJt sunt mobiles, &c. " As minds once stricken with terror are prone 
to superstition." — Aversari. " Regard with aversion." There is a dispute 
whether aversari or adversari is here the true reading. It makes very little 
difference in the sense of the passage. Adversari is sometimes used with 
the dative, as in chap, xxvii. ; ii., 67 ; iv., 37 ; and sometimes with the ac- 
cusative, as in Hist., i., 1, 38 ; iv., 84. 

Inclinations " Change of mind." — Vigiliis, stationibus, custodiis. The 
abstracts for the concretes. The stationes (already mentioned in chap, xxv.) 
consisted each of one cohort and a troop of cavalry, and were posted, as be- 
fore remarked, ?t the several gates of the camp. They were changed at 
mid-day (Liv., xlv., 33). — Neronibus et Drusis. The imperial family was 
derived from both gentes, and bore both names. — Ut novissimi in culpam.. 
Of course, these speeches were not held in presence of the ringleaders. 
Again, the speakers could not address themselves exclusively to those vsho 



£80 NOTES ON THE [cH. XXIX.* XXXI, 

were actually the last to join the insurrection. But they denote all present 
as such, to make the guilty believe that their guilt was not known, and that 
they had, therefore, nothing to fear from the restoration of order. — Privatam 
gratiam, &c. " You may merit favor on your individual account instantly 
you may instantly receive it." 

Chap. XXIX. — Orto die. From the arrival of Drusus to the 'present 
time, a day and a night have elapsed. — Nobilitate ingenita. "With innate 
nobleness of feeling," i. e., from the impulse of a noble heart. — Modestiam. 
" Submission." — Exciperet. Imperfect of the subjunctive in the oratio ob- 
liqua. (Madvig, § 404.) — Orantibus. " On their entreating it," i. e., that he 
would write to his father. When the subject to the ablative absolute of a 
participle or adjective is a pronoun (as Us orantibus), unless the pronoun be 
emphatic, it is not expressed. This use of the ablative absolute is some 
what rare, however, in more ancient authors.— Idem Bl&sus. Supply men 
tally qui antea missus erat. Consult chap. xix. — L. Apronius. Distin 
guished, by the apposition which follows, from his father. He is the person 
mentioned at hi., 21, with the surname of Ccesianus. — E cohorte Drusi. " Of 
the suite of Drusus." Elsewhere they are called comites or contuberndles. 
They consisted of the private friends or relations of the general, or of young 
men of rank whom he took with him on his own account. There were often 
different grades among these comites. Compare Suet., Tib., 46. 

Opperiendos. That is, ere they advanced to final measures ; fu* to go 
away before the return of the legati was not thought of till later. Compare 
the conclusion of chap. xxx. — Comitate. " By courteous treatment." — Mod- 
icum. " That was not in extremes." — Promtum ad severiora. " Readily 
inclined toward measures of severity." — Extra vallum, Executions took 
place outside the camp, behind the porta decumana, just as outside the walls 
of cities. 

Chap. XXX. — Vix tutari signa. This was looked upon as a portent, 
*jie standards being objects of religious worship. — Frustra. " To no pur 
pose." — Hebescere sidera. Alluding to the recent eclipse. — Castra infausta 
temerataque. " An ill-starred and polluted camp." — Soluti piaculo. " Freed 
from their guilt by some expiatory atonement." — Epistolas. Here used in 
the plural to denote a single letter. This is a late usage of the plural, and 
arises from the analogy of Uteres. Compare ii., 70, 78 ; iii., 59 ; Hist., iii., 
63. It is of very frequent occurrence in Justin. — Desolatus. " Left alone/ 
— Satis consederant. "Had become sufficiently settled." 

Chap. XXXI. — Germanics legiones. In each of the two German prov- 
inces were four legions. Those in Germania Superior formed the exercitus 
superior ; those in Germania Inferior, the exercitus inferior. — Vi sua cuncta 
Jracturis. " Intending to manage all things by their own strength," i. e. t 
who thought they had force su'ficient to carry all things their own way.— 
Cut nomen superiori. Consul' notes on chap, xxxiv., of the Germania. — C 



CHAP. XXXII.] ANNAI£. 281 

Nilio. Silius and Caecina were both legati pro pr&tore. — Regimen summm 
rei. " The command in chief." 

Agendo Galliarum censui. . This census was for the purpose of apportion- 
ing the tribute and taxes. It was first taken by Augustus (Liv., Epit., 134 ; 
Dio Cass., liii., 22). Besides the tribute, the Gauls were subject to both a 
poll-tax and a property -tax. The charge of taking the census was looked 
upon as a distinction, and was entrusted to persons of high rank. 

In rabiem prolapsus est. "Broke forth into open outrage." — Prima. 
This legion, in an ancient inscription, is called Germanica. — Ubiorum. The 
Ubii were brought over from the right to the left bank of the Rhine by Agrip 
pa. A colony of veterans was sent to the Oppidum TJbiorum by Agrippina, 
the daughter of Germanicus, and wife of Claudius. Consult notes on chap, 
xxviii., of the Germania. — Vernacula multitudo. That the " vernacular mul- 
titude" means those born in Rome, is shown by the addition nuper acto in 
urbe delectu. In itself, the phrase might equally well denote the Roman cit- 
zens born in the provinces ; as in Hirtius, Bell. Alex., 53, a legion in Spain, 
consisting of Roman citizens born there, is called vernacula. The great 
bulk of the native population of the capital was, as in all great cities, the 
very dregs of the Roman people ; but still, in the term vernaculus, in and of 
itself, there is nothing contemptuous. The rest of the soldiers were levied 
in the other parts of Italy, or the neighboring provinces, or by long residence 
on the Rhine had become domesticated there. The levy here meant was 
held five years before, after the overthrow of Varus. 

Impellere. The MS. has implere, but impellere is probably the right word, 
and is given by some of the best editors. — Maturam. " In due season." — 
Ora. " Faces." — In suum cognomentum adscisci imperatores. ''That com- 
manders of armies were admitted to their appellation." The appellation 
meant is Germanicus. Observe that cognomentum here, as frequently in 
Tacitus and the poets, is not the " surname," but a name attached to a per- 
son or thing, " an appellation ;" for, in the case of the legions, Germanicce 
is not surname, but name or appellation ; it becomes surname only for the 
imperatores. Observe, moreover, that by imperatores are here meant the 
members of the imperial house, who have borne an imperium, and who, ac- 
cording to ancient custom, have been saluted imperatores. The cognomen 
Germanicus was granted by the senate to Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, 
and his descendants. By imperatores, therefore, in the present passage, we 
must understand Drusus himself and his son Germanicus ; for, though Ti 
berius himself sometimes bore this title, it was too unusual with him to ad 
mit of his being thought of in this place. 

Chap. XXXII. — Nee legatus obviam ibat. That is, Caecina did not op. 
pose them as Blaesus opposed the Pannonian legions. — Plurium. " Of tht 
majority." — Constantiam. "All firmness of spirit (on his part)." — Lym- 
phati. " Transported with fury." The term is properly applied to persons 
supposed to be driven mad by the water nymphs (vvfi^oXTjirroi), whose 
appearance in water was thought to terrify them, and inspire them with a 









<J82 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XXXIIL 

horror of that element. It is then figuratively applied to persons transoort. 
ed with rage or fury generally. — Sexageni tingulos. The soldiers consider 
ed what had been done to individuals of them to have been done to ail, as 
what is done to any part of the body is done to the whole. Therefore, as 
sixty ienturions inflicted chastisement upon the legion, so now eacn cen- 
iurion was chastised by sixty soldiers, by way of making each of them feel 
what hitherto the legion had felt. How many blows each soldier gave is 
quite indifferent, and therefore it was not necessary that all the centurions 
should be killed by the beating they received. 

Convulsos laniatosque. " Torn and mangled." — Ccsde C. Caesaris. Ca- 
ligula was assassinated by Chasrea, Sabinus, and others, on the 24th of Jan- 
uary, A.D. 41. — Turn adolescens. He was above thirty years old at the 
time. — Jus obtinuit. u Retained any authority." — PrcBsens usus. '* Pres- 
ent necessity," i. e., the exigency of the moment. — Militares animos altius 
conjectantibus. " To those who penetrated more deeply into the spirit of 
the soldiery." Observe that conjectare aliquid does not denote here, as 
usually, to form a conjecture concerning the existence of a thing, but to 
guess at its nature, property, or qualities. Altius denotes the deeper pene- 
tration of the surmise. — JEqualitate et constantia. " Uniformity and regu- 
larity." — Regi. "That they were under the command of a single mdi 
vidual." 

Chap. XXXIII. — Neptem ejus. Agrippina was the daughter of Julia, 
Marcellus's widow, and Agrippa. Consult notes on chap. hi. — Flures. 
Nine (Suet., Cal., 7). — Patrui aviceque. Tiberius and Livia.- — Acriores quia 
iniqucB. Because the thought of the person hated makes the hater feel 
ashamed of his own baseness, and at the same time degraded, because he is 
obliged to conceal his anger, and can not do what he wishes. — Potitus foret. 
Observe that /ore, with the perfect participle of passive and deponent verbs, 
corresponds to the futurum exactum. Compare Madvig, $ 410 ; 06s. 2. 

Civile. " Such as became a citizen." — Obscuris. "Reserved." — Mulie- 
bres offensiones. " Female animosities," i. e. y such as spring from ^etty 
womanish jealousies. — Novercalibus Livice, &c. " With all a step-motner's 
rancor on the part of Livia toward Agrippina." Livia was step-motner to 
Agrippina's mother, Julia. But Julia, being in exile, was as good as dead 
(she actually died in this year, chap, liii.); Livia became a kind of step- 
mother to the daughter. — Atque ipsa Agrippina, &c. "And there was 
Agrippina herself, a little too irritable in disposition." Supply accedebat. 
The muliebres offensiones were principally on Livia's part ; but Agrippina 
herself, by her passionate temper, was somewhat in fault. — Nisi quod casti- 
tate, &c. As her chastity restrained her from all vicious indulgence, hei 
love for her husband from all that might have grieved him, her strong pas- 
sions could show themselves only in what was good. — Quamvis indomitum 
animum, &c. '• She always gave a good direction to her spirit, thougo un 
yielding/' 



30. XXXIV.-XXXVI.] ANNALS. 283 

Chap. XXXIV. — Sequanos . A Belgian community, betv? sen Mount Jui a 
and the Arar, or Saone. — Proximas et Belgarum, &c. Like cBgro et corpore, 
chap. iii. — In verba ejus. Consult notes on chap. vii. — Tumultu. "The 
mutiny." — Raptim. " With all dispatch." — Discedere in manipulos. " To 
depart into maniples," i. e., to separate and range themselves in maniples. 
— Sic melius audituros. " That they would hear better as they were," i. c, 
intermingled. This is commonly translated, " that they would thus hear 
his reply better," making responsum a noun, and not a verb (responsum scil. 
est). But the former interpretation agrees better with what follows. Ger- 
manicus, giving way to them on this point, orders " vexilla prceferri, ut id 
saltern discerneret cohortes." To follow the standard, and to stand by it, was 
the bounden duty of every soldier. According to this last order, therefore, 
the three vexilla of each cohort are to be set together, and to these the sol- 
diers of the cohort are to gather themselves. 

Veneratione. Because the object of his panegyric was a god. — Flexvt. 
"He turned away." — Apud Germanias. This was after the death of his 
brother Drusus ; first, 9 and 8 B.C. ; then 4 and 5 A.D. ; and lastly, after 
the defeat of Varus, 9-11 A.D. 

Chap. XXXV. — Modestia militaris. " Military subordination." — Expro- 
brant Compare notes on chap, xviii. — Indiscretis vocibus. " With mingled 
outcries." — Pretia vacationum. "The prices paid for exemptions from 
duty." The centurions in the Roman army were very badly paid, and en- 
deavored to make up for that by exactions from the soldiers. — Propriis no- 
minibus. Opposed to indiscretis vocibus, and denoting that particular stress 
was laid upon what follows. — Materia. Timber, stakes for the vallum, &c. 
— Lignorum. " Fire-wood." — Si qua alia. Making roads, bridges, canals, 
&c. — Adversus. u As a remedy against." — Neu mortem in iisdem laboribus, 
&c. " And not to give unto them to die in those same toils, but an end of 
a service so rigid, and a comfortable retreat." Observe here the very un- 
usual zeugma in orabant, as if daret were expressed with mortem, and what 
follows. According to Ritter, Tacitus would seem by this violent construc- 
tion to wish to imitate the atrocissimus clamor of the veterans. 

Legatam. "Bequeathed." — Faustis in Germanicum ominibus. "With 
cries of happy omen to Germanicus." These fausta omina, and the offer 
lhat follows, they connect with their demand of the legacy, in order to show 
Germanicus that in the latter they have no wish to annoy him. It is Ti- 
berius's money that they want ; to Germanicus they wish all that is good, 
and are ready to make the whole empire his. With promtos supply se esse. 
So, farther on, moriturum for se moriturum esse. Cicero would hardly have 
omitted the pronoun. — Scelere. " By their guilt," i. e., their treason. — Zfe- 
ferebat .... ni. Consult notes on chap, xxiii. — Quidam singuli. " Soma 
standing apart." — Spatium. " A pause." While the soldiers in their sur- 
prise hung back, and turned toward Cilusidius. 

Chap. XXXVI. — TIbiorum oppidum. Afterward Colonia Agrippinensis 



284. 



NOTES ON THE [cH. XXXVII.*XXX1X. 



now Cologne. — Galliarum. Gallia Belgica and Gallia Lugdunensis. — Si 
omitteretur ripa. " If the bank of the river were left unguarded," i. e., by 
.he legions drawing off to Gaul. — Suscipi. Historical infinitive, for the im- 
perfect. — Periculosa severitas. Supply erat in this and the succeeding 
clause. — Inter se. " And compared them with one another." — Exauctorari. 
" Should receive a qualified discharge." Exauciorare elsewhere denotes 
final discharge ; but here it means the putting out of the ranks, and into the 
reserve. — Sub vexillo. " Under a standard of their own." 






Chap. XXXVII. — In tempus conficta. " That these things were fabri- 
cated to meet the exigencies of the moment." — In hiberna cujusque. That 
is, until they each reached their winter quarters. — Non abscessere, &c. They 
demanded immediate payment, not only for themselves, but for the first and 
twentieth legions also, as appears from what follows.— Con tracta ex viatico. 
" Collected from the travelling funds." Viaticum here means, not the money 
allowed by the state to those who were going into any of the provinces, but 
the money which they had brought on their own account, to provide for the 
expenses of the journey. 

Fisci de imperatore rapti. " The money-bags extorted from their general." 
— Inter signa interque aquilas. Just as money was frequently deposited in 
temples, so in the army it was kept by the standards, which were looked 
upon as sacred. The signiferi kept the accounts. 



Chap. XXXVIII. — Caucis. Consult chap, xxxv., of the Germania. — 
Presidium agitantes, &c. " A party of veterans belonging to the disorderly 
legions, who were then in garrison." — Prcesenti supplicio. " By the imme- 
diate punishment." — Mennius. Borghesi maintains that we should read 
nere M. Ennius, which, however, we may be allowed to doubt. — Bono ex 
emplo. " With good example," i. e., in regard that by this act he set a prec 
edent which might be advantageously followed in like emergencies. — Con 
cesso jure. The right to inflict capital punishment upon the commbn sol- 
diers belonged to none under the rank of legatus pro prcetore. Compare Die 
Cass., liii., 22. — Postquam intutce latebrm. "When his retreat afforded nc 
security." — Non violari. " Was not outraged." — Et nihil ausos. " And yet 
having dared to do nothing." 



Chap. XXXIX. — Legati ab senatu. Mentioned in chap. xiv. — Regressum. 
From the upper army. Compare chap, xxxvii. — Aram Ubiorum. This altai 
was probably erected to Augustus, like that at Lugdunum {Suet., Claud., 
2). Not far from Bonn is a hill called Godesberg, which is probably the site 
of the altar of the Ubii. That this altar was somewhere near Bonn is pretty 
certain. The name Godesberg seems to indicate that the place was the 
seat of a religious worship of some kind. — Missi sub vexillo. " Discharged 
(but retained) under a standard of their own."- — Munatium Plancum. He had 
been consul the year previous, A.D. 13, and was a son of the famous orator 
Plancus, from whom there are letters extant among the Epistles of Cicero. 



fHAP. XL., XLI.J - ANNALS. 285 

* exillum. This was the purple flag by which the signal for battle was 
jiven, and which was always in the keeping of the general. "When it was 
*ing out, the soldiers were at liberty to make use of their arms. — Extr actum 
inoili. " Forced to leave his couch," not, as some render it, " dragged out 
>i nis bed." — Castra prima legionis. The two legions encamped apart from 
«ach other, with a common vallum, as the Pannonian legions. Compare 
snap, xviii. — Religione sese tutabatur. " He endeavored to protect himsell 
\y the sanctity in which they were held." — Rarum. " A thing of rare oc- 
urrence." The accusative in apposition with what precedes. Compare 
iotes on chap, xxxvii. 

Noscebantur. " Were able to be distinguished." — Fatalem increpans rab 
tern. " Telling them in the language of rebuke, that their furious outbreak 
was brought about by the special agency of Heaven," i. e., as a punishment 
ipon them. With fatalem supply esse, and observe that increpans is equiv- 
dent here to increpando dicens. — Facunde miser atur. " He laments in elo- 
quent terms." — Attonita. " Awed." 

Chap. XL. — Eo in metu. "In this alarming crisis." — Arguere. 
"Blamed." — Obsequia, &c. Supply trant. — Filium parvulum. Caius 
Caasar (Caligula), afterward emperor, born A.D. 12. — Avo. Of the tvo per- 
sons to be sent to Tiberius, the young child stood nearest to him, since, as 
adoptive father of Germanicus, he was avus to the child. — Aspernantem. 
1 Spurning the idea of leaving him." — Degenerem adpericula. " Degenerate 
for facing dangers/' — Perpulit. Governs uxorem. — Incedebat. "Moved 
slowly along." — Profuga. "A fugitive." — Nee minus tristes. Supply 
erant. 

Chap. XLI. — Nonflorentis, &c. " The appearance of Caesar, unlike that 
of a commander flourishing in the full enjoyment of power, and in his own 
camp," &c. Literally, " of Caesar not flourishing, nor in his own camp." — 
Non centurionem, &c. Supply habentes. — Treveros. Gauls. Their capital, 
the modern Treves. — Et externa fidei. " And to the protection of strangers." 
i. e., aliens, foreigners. Observe the change to the dative, the idea literally 
being, "for the purpose of obtaining the protection of strangers." — Socer 
Drusus. " There, too, was her father-in-law, Drusus." Supply erat, which 
is also to be supplied with the nominatives that follow. 

In castris genitus. Tacitus here follows the popular opinion. That it is 
false, however, since Caligula was born at Antium, has been shown by Sue- 
tonius, CaL, 8. — Militari vocabulo. " By an appellation such as the soldier 
is wont to give." The caliga was a strong and heavy shoe worn by the Ro- 
man soldiers. Hence the term caligati is applied by Suetonius (Aug., 25) 
to denote the common soldiers. — Orant. This verb denotes quite generally 
expressions of entreaty ; special entreaties are expressed afterward, inde- 
pendently of this verb, by rediret, maneret. The verb obsistunt in its propei 
sense belongs only to pars Agrippinas occursantes ; to the other clause, piur- 
tmi ad Germanicum regressi, we must supply only the general notion of op 



28t) NOTES ON THE [CHAP. XLIt 

position. — Recens doJoi & tt ira. The older writers would have said recznti 
dolore et ira. 

Chap. XLII. — Liberos meos. Besides Caligula, the two now at Rome, 
Nero and Drusus. With the two latter we must supply from summove* 
only the general notion of Keeping aloof.— Quidqvid istuc sceleris imminct. 
"Whatever this guilt of yours be that threatens us." Istuc is frequently 
used as the neuter pronoun in Plautus, Terence, and Cicero. Ernesti con 
jectured istinc. — Pietur. " May be done away." Not meaning that there- 
by the guilt of the crime, but only that the crime itself is removed or made 
to cease. — Tiberii nurus. Agrippina, Germanicus being the adopted son of 
Tiberius. — Coetui. " Gathering." — Filium imperatoris. Germanicus, who 
had been adopted by him. — Vallo. Of the camp which the soldiers used 
against their general. The words refer as well to the occurrences in the 
castra cestiva as to the most recent tumult. On both occasions they would 
not have permitted him to withdraw. Compare chap, xxviii. 

Hostium quoque jus . . . gentium. All these three expressions denote the 
same crime, namely, that against the ambassadors. It is the rhetorical fig- 
ure of the congeries verborum ac sententiarum idem significtxntium, a kind of 
amplification when the same thing is denoted in different ways, so that it 
seems to be many. Compare Quintil., viii., 4, 26. — Divus Julius. This was 
in 47 B.C., before the expedition to Africa. Compare Suet., Cces., 70.-— 
Quirites. This was the term usually employed in addressing Roman citi- 
zens in their civil capacity. The soldiers would, of course, look upon the 
peaceable citizen with contempt, and would, moreover, feel deeply mortified 
at having such an appellation applied to themselves. — Divus Augustus. 
This was in 30 B.C., when the veterans sent after the battle of Actium to 
Brundisium, while Augustus wintered at Samos, were making a tumult. 
His arrival restored quiet. Compare Suet., Aug., 17; Dio Cass., li., 3, 4. 
Nos. Germanicus alone, whose mother Antonia was daughter of Au 
Justus's sister Octavia, by the Triumvir M. Antonius. Tiberius was not 
descended from Augustus. — Ut nondum eosdem, &c. "As, on the one hand, 
not yet equal to them, so, on the other, descended from them." — Hispania 
Syriceve miles. Because he was personally unknown to these. — Indignum 
erat. The imperfect indicative is often used of a thing which, in a certain 
case that does not actually hold, would be right and proper, or possible, 
&c, at the present time, as if to show the duty and ob 1 '"^tion or possibility 
more unconditionally. (Madvig, § 348, e.) 

Primane, &c. The question whether a thing does happen, when we know 
that it does, marks it to be so wonderful as to be quite incredible. The in- 
terrogative particle, as a general rule, is affixed to the words which have the 
emohasis, as here, because opposed to Hispania Syriasve miles. — Egregiam 
gratiam refertis ? " Are you making this goodly return ?" Ironical. — Duci 
vestro. Tiberius. Germanicus speaks here only of what they owe to Ti- 
berias, because their treatment of himself was merely a consequence of 
tbeir behavior to Tiberius. — Legate*. The commanders in the army ars 



CHAP. XLIH., XiJV.] ANNALS. 28T 

meant. Each legion had usually at the head of it a legatus, not to be coa 
founded with the legatus pro prastore. To these legcti nothing had been done, 
but they were no more free to go than was Germanicus. The ambassadors 
fiom the senate had met with worse treatment. Compare chap, xxxix. 

Chap. XLIII. — Enim. Since he considers the danger to his life, caused 
by the behavior of the soldiery, as a proof that they are capable of wishing his 
death (precaria anima). — Melius et amantius ille. Supply/eaV. — Tot flagiti- 
orum exercitui meo conscius. Tacitus has formed this construction after that 
of the personal pronoun, to express that the guilt of the army presses upon 
Germanicus as if it were his own. Where mere participation of knowledge 
is meant, the phrase is, conscius alteri in or de re, or facti alterius consfius.. 
■— Offerentium. "Offering their services." — Istud. If istud be the right 
word here, it must have lost by this time its original meaning, as a demon- 
strative of the second person. 

Imago. The person as present to their imagination, heightened by the 
more comprehensive tui memoria. — Hanc maculam. Not, as some think, the 
overthrow of Varus, but the mutiny which has just taken place. — Si legatos 
senatui, &c. What Germanicus says of the legati, and his wife and child, 
is to be taken figuratively ; for, in point of fact, they had done both. To 
the senate they give back its ambassadors, when, by repentance and pun- 
ishment of their crime they give it satisfaction for their offence ; to Germani- 
cus his wife and son, when they return to such a course of behavior that he 
can resolve to let these remain in the camp. — A contactu. " From all con- 
tact with the guilty," i. e., from their infectious touch. — Stabile. " Stable 
ground." 

Chap. XLIV. — Ob imminentem, &c. "On account of her approaching 
delivery and the advance of winter." Observe that imminentem refers to 
hiemem as well as partum. — Legatum legionis primes. Consult note on " *»• 
gatos," chap. xlii. — Pro condone. " After the manner of an assembly," i. e. f 
-as an assembly. In quite a different sense an orator speaks pro condone, 
"before an assembly," as at ii., 22. — Invidia. "The odium." — Rcetiam 
iaetia is here meant in the more extended sense, comprehending not only 
'*aetia proper, now the Grisons and the greater part of the Tyrol, but also 
Tindelicia, answering to part of Baden, Wirtemberg, Bavaria, and the north- 
ern portion of the Tyrol. — Suevos. By the Suevi are here meant the na- 
tions forming the kingdom of Maroboduus. Compare ii., 44. Those of 
them which bordered on Raetia were chiefly the Herraunduri. — Ceterum 
" But in reality." Opposed to specie. Literally " for the rest," i. e., whal 
remains after deducting species or "appearance," and, therefore, "in re 
ality." Compare notes on chap. x. 

Centurionatum. " A muster of the centurims." The word centurionatus x 
except in this passage, occurs only in Valerius Maximus (iii., 2, 23), in the 
sense of "office of centurion," like decurionatus. But the other meaning 
tare given to it is not less agreeable to the derivation. Various alterations 



288 



NOTES ON THE 



[CH 



XLV.-XLVH 






of the *ext have been proposed, but without any necessity.- — Fecisset. Ac- 
cording to his own statement. Hence the subjunctive. — Industriam. " His 
diligent discharge of duty." — Approbaverant , . . . ibjectavissent. Observe 
that here, where mention is made of a repeated act, we have in one clause 
the indicative, which in this case the older writers almost exclusively use 
and in the other the subjunctive, which is most usual in the more modern 
style. (Madvig, $ 359.) Compare notes on chap, xxvii.— Solvebatur militia. 
" He was cashiered." This was the missio ignominiosa. 



Chap. XLV. — Haud minor moles super er at. " No less great a mass of 
trouble remained." — Ferociam. " The outrageous conduct." — Sexagesimum 
apud lapidem. " At the sixtieth milestone." More freely, "sixty miles 
off." The distance, of course, is computed from the Oppidum Ubiorum, 
where Germanicus then was. — Vetera. A town of the Gugerni, on the 
banks of the Rhine, between the Ubii and Batavi, on the site of the modern 
Santen or Xanten. In the itinerary of Antonine (p. 370), the distance be- 
tween "Vetera and the Oppidum Ubiorum is made sixty-three miles. — Pxni 
tentia. Not their own, as Nipperdey maintains, but that of the others who 
had mutinied. — Imperium. " His authority." — Certaturus. Marking de- 
termination. 

Chap. XL VI. — In Illyrico. Properly in Pannonia. Compare chap, xvi., 
teqq. — Invalida et inermia. Senate and people, in their totality, are here 
taken as parts or members of the general body of the state. Hence the neu- 
ter. Compare chap. lvi. : " Ut, quod imbecillum estate ac sexu, statim cap- 
turn aut trucidatum sit." — Cunctatione ficta. Compare chap. xL, seqq. — Du- 
orum adolescentium. Drusus and Germanicus. — Adulta. "Matured." — 
Severitatis et munificentia summum. " The supreme arbiter of rigorous pun- 
ishment and liberal reward." — An Augustum potuisse. On this elliptical 
use of the accusative with the infinitive, consult Zumpt, $ 609. — Cavillan- 
tem. " Wresting from their intended meaning." Consult Forcellini, Lex., 
g. v. — Fomenta. " Conciliatory measures." 



Chap. XLVII. — Immotum adversus, &c. " Unshaken and fixed against 
these remarks was the resolve unto Tiberius, not to leave the capital," &c. 
Compare Virgil (JEn., iv., 15) : " Simihinon animofixum immotumque sede- 
-et." — Diversa. "Conflicting considerations." — Quos igitur anteferret? 
This use of quos for utros is of rare occurrence. — Ac, ne postpositi, &c. 
" And it also proved a source of disquietude unto him, lest those who were 
not preferred might be exasperated by the affront." With ac supply ange 
bat, from the angebant at the beginning of the passage, and observe that ac is 
introduced the better to distinguish the two grounds of anxiety ; the diffi- 
culty of deciding, and the fear of the consequences that might ensue from 
that decision. — At per filios pariter adiri, &c. " Whereas they could be ap- 
proached by him through his sons in an equal degree," the imperial dignity 
villaining meanwhile unimpaired ;" i. e. t whereas, by sending one of his 



CHAP. XLVIII.-L.J ANNALK 289 

sons to each, he treated -hem both alike, without impairing the imperial dig 
nity, 

Excusatum. Supply fore. — Impedimenta. "Wagons and beasts of bur 
den." Compare Suet., Tib., 38. — Naves. Ships might be employed eithei 
a^-oss the Mare Superum, or from Ostia to Massilia, as in the Britannic ex- 
pedition of Claudius (Suet., Claud., 17). — Prudentes fefellit. " He imposed 
upon men of sense." 

Chap. XL VIII. — Si rectnti exemplo, &c. " To see whether, through the 
force of the late example, they themselves would consult for their own safe- 
ty." Compare iv., 49: " Exercitum ostendit si barbari prcelium auderent." — 
Coecinam. It appears, therefore, that Caecina, after he had led the first and 
twentieth legions to the city of the Ubii (chap, xxxvii.), had probably, after 
the return of Germanicus (chap, xxxix.), gone to Vetera. — Aquiliferis. The 
first centurion of the first maniple of the triarii had charge of the eagle of the 
legion. He* stood next in rank to the tribuni militum, and had a seat in the 
military council. — Maxime sincerum. " Least disaffected." — Causas et mer- 
tta spectari. " Motives and merits were regarded." — Fozdissimum. " Most 
depraved." — Noscente. Not perhaps " knowing," but "learning," as in 
chap, lxii., nullo noscente, " none recognizing," or "being able to ascertain." 

Chap. XLIX. — Diversa omnium, &c. " The character of all the civil con 
fiicts that ever happened was different from that of this one." — Discedunt in 
partes. This accords with non prcdio, non adversis e castris, only by a 
zeugma, that is, by supplying the general notion of opposition ; since in the 
fight, and in the case of hostile camps, the parties are already divided. Ren- 
der, therefore, " Not in fight, not from opposed camps (do they encounter 
one another), but," &c. — Simul quietos. " Reposing together." — Bonorum. 
' Of the well-affected." 

Non medicinam Mud, &c. "Calling that, with very many tears, not a 
remedy, but a massacre." Observe the employment of Mud here. In the 
older style the attraction Mam would have been indispensable. Tacitus has 
neglected it here, and in ii., 36 : " Non enimpreces sunt istud, sed efflagita- 
tio ;" as also in iv., 19 : " quasi attt Varro consul aut Mud res publica esset ;" 
and xvi., 22 : " secessionem jam id et partes," &c. — Piaculum fur oris. In ap 
position with eundi in hostem. — Sequitur. "Falls in with." — Legionibus 
The four legions on the Lower Rhine. — Quarum. Referring as well to co 
hortes as to alas. — Modestia. " Sense of duty." 

Chap. L. — Agitabant. " Were passing their time." Frequentative of 
agebant. — Attinemur. " We are hell back."- — Agmine propero, &c. " By a 
forced march make their way through the Cassian forest, iuid cross the bar 
rier laid out by Tiberius." The Cassian forest lay over against Vetera, 
where Germanicus crossed the Rhine, in the neighborhood of Wesel. The 
term scindit does not mean that they cut a way through this forest, but that 
they go through it, and cross the limes. Upon the limes, wLich was a broad 

N 



290 NOTES ON THE fcHAP. LI. 



dyke, they pitch their camp. To have actually broken a way through „na 
limes would have been a useless and mischievous labor, as it would have to 
be closed again. The term cceptum is employed, not because the limes was 
incomplete, but because it was capable of being made more complete. Com 
pare xi., 1 : " (hortos) a I/ucullo cceptos insigni magnificent ia extollebai"— 
Conccedibus. " With piles of hewn timber," i. c, trees cut down and piied 
up as barricades. 

Saltus obscuros. " Gloomy forest grounds." A continuation probably ol 
the Silva Ccesia. — Incautum. " Unguarded." Used passively, as in Livj 
xxv., 38. This road led to the Amisia (Ems), and the country of the Marsi 
the other, along the Luppia (Lippe) to the Cherusci.— Ac solennibus epulL 
ludicram. " And celebrated with a customary banquet and with sports," 
At the banquet there were games, armor-dances, &c. Compare chap. xxiv. 
of the Germania. — Obstantia silvarum. Compare " occulta saltuum" and 
" humido paludum," chap, lxi. ; " aperta oceani" (ii., 23) ; " angusta viaruwC' 
(iii., 82), &c. # 

Marsorum. The Marsi here meant were situate between the Lippe and 
the Ruhr, in the interior. They are mentioned in Strabo (vii., p. 444, A) 
and appear as a highly important people in Tacitus, in this and the follow 
ing book, but nowhere afterward. The explanation probably is, that the) 
were not a nation, but a confederation of nations. — Stationes. " Parties ol 
armed men." — Antepositis. " Being stationed in advance."- — Belli. " Of 
any hostile attack." — Pax. "A state of repose." — Nisi languida et soluta. 
" Other than the result of languor and remissness," i. e., one arising from 
the languor and torpor of drunkenness, and without the restraints and pre 
cautions which are usual even in time of peace. 

Chap. LI. — Avidas. " Eager," i. e., to commence the onslaught. — Cu- 
neos. " Columns." Besides its literal meaning of a " wedge," cuneus is 
applied generally, as here, to a body of troops drawn up in column. Com- 
pare Hist., ii., 42 ; Curt., iii., 2. — Templum. Not a temple in our sense of 
the word ; for, according to Tacitus (Germ., ix.), the Germans had none, but, 
as in Germ., xl., a sacred grove, with an altar, and the like appendages, for 
worship. Compare iv., 73: u lucum quern Baduhennce vocant." — Tanfance 
This deity is not spoken of except in the present passage, and in one in 
scription. There is nothing to guide us to the meaning or derivation of th* 
name, at which various guesses have been made, without arriving at any 
very probable result. — Sine vulnere milites. Supply fuere. — Semiso?nnos, in 
ermos, aut palantes. " Men half asleep, (or else) unarmed, or (if armed) strag 
gling about singly." Three different classes are meant. 

Bructeros . . . Usipetes. Compare Germ., xxxii., seq. — Tubantes. In the 
southern part of the duchy of Westphalia, and the northern part of the coun 
try of Mark, on the southern side of the Luppia, or Lippe. — Saltusque. On 
the Lippe, those which they entered immediately after crossing the frontier 
— Quod gnarum duci. Consult notes on chap, v., " gnarum id Ccesari."-* 
Incessitque itineri et prcelio. " And he advanced (in an order adap*- 1 s* 



CHAP. LII., LIII.] ANNALS. 291 

once) for marching and fighting." The dative marks the object. There is 
no need of supplying paratus, as some do. — Pars equitum, &c. He is de 
scribing the agmen quadratum of this period, an order intended to guard 
against an attack from any quarter. — Auxiliariai cohortes. " Some cohorts 
of the allies." Not all, because others are mentioned as closing the rear. 

Donee agmen porrigeretur. " Until the line of march was stretched out," 
and consequently weakened. This was done when they had defiled into 
the mountain forests.— Leves cohortes. Those whom above he calls ceteri 
sociorum. — Obliterandas seditionis. " Of obliterating the scandal of sedi- 
tion." — Redigunt. " They drive back." — Evasere silvas. So, " angustias 
isthmi evadit" (v., 10.), and " evasurum juventam" (vi., 48). — Fidens 
" Elated." 

Chap. LII. — Qucesivisset. He had sought it, because Germanicus had 
acted in his name, and he was obliged to ratify his concessions. — Rettulit ad 
senatum. "He consulted the senate." — Intentior. "More in earnest." — 
Fida. " Sincere." — Cunctaque, qua Germanicus indulserat, servavit. "And 
he fulfilled all the concessions which Germanicus had made." — Pannon- 
icos exercitus. "The Pannonian forces." The plural, because several le 
gions. 

Chap. LIII. — Julia. The daughter of Augustus, married successively to 
Agrippa and Tiberius. — Pandateria. A small island in the Gulf of Puteoli, 
off the coast of Campania, now Vendutene. Another and more usual form 
of the name was Pandataria, as given by Strabo. — Oppido Rheginorum. The 
town of Rhegium is meant, the modern Reggio. The words qui Siculum 
/return accolunt are added, to distinguish this place from Regium Lepidi, now 
Reggio, in the duchy of Modena. — Tit imparem. "As one unequal to her 
in birth," i. e., beneath her rank, because she was the emperor's daughter 
Otherwise, the Claudian gens was quite upon a par with hers. — Tarn intima 
causa. " So cogent a motive." — Cur Rhodum abscederet. Consult chap, 
iv. — Post interfectum, &c. She had no hope that Germanicus would rise 
against Tiberius. — Longinquitate exilii. Since 2 B.C. She died A.D. 14. 
Longinquitas here refers to time. 

Sollers ingenio et prave facundus. " Shrewd in point of intellect, and 
eloquent without principle." — Contumacia et odiis. " Through the defiance 
and hatred with which he had inspired her toward him." — Amotus Cercinam. 
At the same time with Qumctius Crispinus, Appius Claudius, Scipio, and 
others of less note. (Dio Cass., Iv., 10.) Cercina (now Chercara or Kar~ 
kenah) was an island in the mouth of the Lesser Syrtis, off the northern 
coast of Africa. — Quatuordecim annis. Not as Julia fifteen years, probably 
because he was that one of her paramours of whom Dio Cassius (lv., 10) 
says, fcai e-£tdy nal dfjiiapxog rig hv avrolg tjv, ov Trporepov izpiv didpgai 
eKpi&T]. — L. Asprenate. Asprenas was consul suffectus A.D. 6. He was 
legatus under Varus A.D. 9, and saved himself with his two legions. {Veil.. 
Hi., 120.) As an orator, Seneca (Contr., v., praif., p. 318, ed. Bip.) reckons 



292 



NOTES ON THE [CHAP. LIV.-LVI, 



him among those " quorum fama cum ipsis extincta est" while from his 
brother, P. Asprenas, he cites much. 

Chap. LIV. — Sodalium Augustalium sacerdotio. " The religious order 
of the Augustalian brotherhood." They were called Augusiales, and were 
instituted to take charge of.the worship of Augustus and the Julian gens. — 
Retinendis sacris. "For preserving the rites." Tacitus in this passage 
corrects the view he had before expressed in Hist., ii., 95, that the sodales 
Titii were instituted by Romulus in honor of Tatius. — Claudius. Afterward 
emperor ; brother of Germanicus. — Histrionum. Here, as almost invariably 
in these times, the term histriones is applied to the players of pantomime, 
which had all but superseded every other kind of acting. — Indulserat ei lu- 
dicro. " Had countenanced that pastime." — Studiis. " Pursuits." — Civile. 
" Popular." — Morum via. " Turn of character." — Molliter habitum. " Hu 
mored." — Duriora. " Severer objects of attention." 






Chap. L.V.— Druso Casare, 6cc. This was in A.U.C. 768, A.D. 15.— 
Manente bello. "While the war still continued." — Pracepit. "He antic- 
ipated it." — Dissidere hostem, &c. " That the enemy were divided into op« 
posite factions between Arminius and Segestes." The expression here is 
the same as in verba partiendi, taking in with the accusative of the person 
or persons to whom the shares fall. — Arminius. The German name Her- 
mann Latinized. — Crimina et innoxios. Instead of saying, " guilty and in- 
nocent,'? or " guilt and innocence." Tacitus, aiming at variety and con- 
trast, takes one term from the former, and the other from the latter mode 
of expression. — Consensu. "By the universal agreement." — Privatim. "By 
motives of a domestic nature." — Filiam. Thusnelda. — Gener invisus inimici 
soceri. Instances of this kind of tautology are not uncommon. Compare 
" Fratris jilio juveni patruus senex parere dedignabatur" (ii., 45); " Utinam 
ego potius jilio juveni, quam ille patri seni cessisset" (iii., 16) ; " Fratrem ne 
desere frater" (Virg., JEn., x., 600). 

Chap. LVI. — Tumultuarias catervas. "Some hastily-enrolled bands." 
The term tumultuarii is properly applied to soldiers raised hastily on some 
6udden or dangerous war breaking out (tumultus) in Italy or Cisalpine Gaul. 
Here it is used in a general sense. — Germanorum cis Rhenum colentium. 
The Ubii, Batavi, and Sigambri, the latter transplanted to the left bank. 
The Vangiones, Triboci, and Nemetes were probably not called because 
they belonged to the upper province. — Positoque castello .... in monte 
Tauno. Mons Taunus is now called not only by its ancient name, but also 
die Hohe and der Heyrich. The fort mentioned in the text as having been 
first erected by Drusus, and afterward rebuilt by Germanicus, was not that 
on the Fulda (now Cassel), but was in the territory of Mattium ; and some 
remains are still to be seen near Homburg. 

L. Apnmio. L. Apronius had distinguished himself in the Pannonian 
war, A.D. 6-9 (Veil, ii., 116). He had been consul suffectus in A.D. 8, 



CHAP. LVII., LVIII.] ANNALS. 293 

and he was now legatus of Germanicus, and with the same dignity as the 
military commanders of the two German provinces, namely, legatus pro 
pratore, as appears from the award of the insignia triumphi to all three 
(chap. Ixxii.).-— Ad munitiones viarum, &c. "For repairing the roads an/1 
bridging the rivers." The munitiones viarum refer properly to the raising 
and strengthening of the banks, in order to guard against inundations 
Compare notes on Agric, xxxi., where the phrase munire viam is explained 
The proper meaning of munitio fluminum is the " damming up of rivers," bu\ 
this is out of the question here. 

Imbresque et fluminum auctus. The former were the cause of the lattei 
but, independently of that, they were feared, because in themselves they 
made the ways impracticable. — Adranam. The Eder. Mannert makes it 
very probable that Tacitus here has fallen into an error, and that for Adra- 
nam he ought to have written Loganam. The Logana is now the Lahne. 
(Mannert, Geogr., iii., p. 564.) — Quod Mi moris y &c. "Which is their cus- 
tom, as often as they have fled, more from craft than from fear." 

Chap. LVII. — Circumsedebatur. " He was besieged." — Quando. In the 
sense of quoniam, as in i., 44, 59 ; ii., 26. — Quanto quis audacia, &c. Tac- 
itus frequently has, with quanto . . . tanto, in one member the positive of an 
adjective, &c, and in the other the comparative, where the earlier writers 
have in both clauses the comparative. — Rebusque mods potior. " And the 
more to be preferred in times of commotion." — Anno quo Germanics descivere. 
This was in A.D. 9, and was shortly followed by the disaster of Varus. — 
Germanics. Not the two Roman provinces on the left bank, nor yet those- 
on the left, and the rest of Germany on the right bank, but simply the latter. 
The plural denotes the districts occupied by the several nations or tribes. — 
Aram Ubiorum. Consult notes on chap, xxxix. — Ruperat. " He had rent." 

Gallicam in ripam. Although the two German provinces lay on the left 
bank of the Rhine, it is called, from the bulk of its population, the Gallic 
bank., in opposition to the right bank, which was entirely German. — Ger- 
manico pretium fuit, &c. "It appeared to Germanicus worth his while to 
march back." The full form would be operas pretium fuit, as used by the 
earlier writers. — Clientium. Compare Germ., xiii. — Victa in lacrimas. 
" Subdued to tears." — Intra sinum. " Within the folds of her dress," i. e. 
between her breast and waist. 

Chap. LVIII. — Simul Segestes ipse. " At the same time appeared Se- 
gestes himself." The generic notion of " appeared" is to be supplied from 
ferebantur, at the close of the previous chapter. — Bonos. "Well and faith- 
fully kept." — Ex vestris utilitatibus. " With reference to your interests." — 
Conducere. With this verb we must supply judicabam, from probabam, at the 
end of the sentence, which latter includes the notion of judging and de- 
ciding. — Reumfeci. "I arraigned." — Conscios. "His accomplices." — Ilia 
nox. Compare chap. lv. The wish that follows is added by him because 
he had taken part in the destruction of Varus, and in the later wars ; to 



204 NOTES ON THE I CHAP. LIX., LX« 

whioh also the next sentence refers. — Dejieri. He means by the Ger 
mans. 

Ubi primum tui copia. " As soon as an opportunity is afforded of con- 
ferring with you." — Ob premium. "With any view to reward." — Concilia- 
tor. " Mediator," i. e., of peace and alliance with the Romans. — Quod ex 
Arminio concepit, &c. That is, that she is the wife of Arminius ; or the 
daughter of Segestes. — Vetere in provincia. On the left bank of the Rhine. 
The " New Province" would be that which the Romans, before the over- 
throw of Varus, possessed on the right bank, as they had neither given up 
their supposed right to this, nor abandoned the hope of regaining it. — Nomen 

mperaioris. This was now given for the second time. Compare Orelli, 
Inscrip. Rom., 656. — Ludibrio. " Mockery." The story, whatever it is, is 

■>st. In xi., 16, A.D. 47, the son of Arminius is spoken of as dead. 

Chap. LIX. — Ut quibusque bellum invitis, &c. Compare notes on Agric, 
xviii. : " Bellum volentibus erat." — Unam mulierculam. " One poor woman," 
i. e., feeble and unprotected. — Redder et filio, &c. The common reading is 
Redderet filio sacerdotium ; hominem Germanos nunquam satis ecccusaturos 
&c. But here hominem (meaning Segestes) is in its wrong place. Severa 
alterations have been proposed; but that of Wolf's, which is adopted in the 
text, is by far the best ; it improves both sentences. Arminius speaks with 
contempt of a Roman priesthood being bestowed upon a Cheruscan chief.—' 
Aliis gentibus ignorantia, &c. He means to say, that other tribes, who 
through their ignorance of the character of the Roman dominion, do not make 
a strenuous resistance, may be more easily excused than those who have 
experienced it, and do not make every effort to escape from it. — Nescia 
" Unknown." 

Quando. In the sense of quoniam. Compare chap. Ivii. — Delectus, Foi 
carrying on the war in Germany. Compare Suet., Tib., 18 ; Veil, ii., 120. 
— Imperitum adolescentulum. Germanicus. And yet Arminius himself was 
not much older than the Roman prince. — Patriam, parentes. The slave of 
right possesses neither. — Colonias novas. This is said with reference to the 
old colonies planted by the Romans, for the purpose of protecting the con- 
quered territory, and which had been destroyed after the victory of Armin- 
ius. 

Chap. LX. — Sed conterminas gentes. Supply etiam after sed. It is fre- 
quently thus omitted. Compare Sail., Cat., 18 : " Non consulibus modo, 
sedplerisque senatoribus" Sometimes we find the sed omitted, as in iv., 35 : 
u non modo iibettas, etiam libido impunita." — Quadraginta cohortibus Romanis. 
The four legions of the Lower Rhine. The expression " forty cohorts" is 
ised merely for the sake of variety. — Bructeros. Compare Germ., xxxiii. 
— Amisiam. Not to be confounded with the Amisia, which falls into the 
German Ocean. The river here meant separates Westphalia, Mark, and 
Dortmund, and falls into the Rhine. — Pedo. Probably C. Pedo Albinova 
aus, of whose poetry we have a fragment remaining, on the voyage of Ger 



CHAP. LXIc, LXII.J ANNALS. 295 

.aanicus down the Amisia to the ocean. Compare ii., 23 ; Ovid, ex Pont., 
iv., 10, 16. — Frisiorum. Compare Germ., xxxiv. 

Quatuor legiones. Those of the Upper Rhine. — Lacus. The lakes are 
now united in the Zuyder Zee. He entered them from the Rhine, by the 
Fossa Drusiana, now the Yssel. — Pr&dictum. "Before mentioned." A 
usage frequent in Velleius and later writers. — L. Stertinius. He formed 
here the advanced guard of the army, moving from north to south. — Amisi- 
am et Luppiam amnes inter. The collocation of the preposition, after two 
words combined by a copulative particle, is a modern usage. The preposi 
tion must be a dissyllable, with its first syllable long. — Teutoburgiensi saltu. 
The Teutoburgian forest is here meant. The locality of the field of battle 
where Varus was overthrown has not been determined with any certainty, 
though not a little has been written on the subject. Most writers have look 
ed for the spot in the vicinity of Teuteberg, near Detmold, of Winfeld, and 
Varenholz (the wood of Varus). 

Chap. LX1. — Aggeres. tl Causeways." — Humido pallidum. " Over the 
watery portion of the morasses." — Fallacious. "Insecure." — Incedunt. 
" They enter upon." — Prima Vari castra. Germanicus came from the west, 
Varus had fallen back from the east. As the description here follows Va 
rus's line of march, it appears that Germanicus had pushed beyond the firsf 
camp of Varus, for the purpose of reviewing the localities according to the 
order of the events. — Dimensis principiis. From the marking out of the 
principia proceeded that of the entire camp, and the lines of tents all led up 
to this. — Trium legionum manus ostentabant. " Showed the hands of three 
legions," i. e., that the hands of three legions had been employed upon it. 
In other words, showed that when the camp was formed the three legions 
were still entire. 

Dein. This refers to some spot distinct from that just spoken of. This 
second camp was made on the second day, on some hill or other. Compare 
Dio Cass., lvi., 21. — Semiruto vallo. The circumstance that this vallum 
of the second camp was half fallen in, showed that it was not strongly made 
in the first instance. — Medio campi. "In the intervening portion of the 
plain." Not only between the two camps, but generally between the 
mountains and the forests. — Simul truncis, &c. To this supply from adja- 
cebant only the general notion of proximity. — Or a. " Human skulls." — Le- 
gates. The separate commanders of the legions. — Infelici. Because com 
pelled to such an act. The act in itself is not hereby censured. — Invenerit. 
Earlier waiters would have employed invenisset after referebant. — Patibula 
ThepatibulumwsiS a piece of timber, forked above, to the arms of which the 
outspread hands were nailed, thus answering the same purpose as a cross 
-Scrobes. In which they were tortured. 

Chap. LXII. — Romanus qui aderat exercitus. Nipperdey compares this 
iteration of the same words, as in the beginning of the previous chapter, ta 
&e antistrophic responsion in lyrical measures, and to be intended to ex 



'^96 & JTES JN the [ch^p. lxik., lxiv 

press strong feeling. Of a similai character, as regards the indication of 
deep emotion, is the neglect of strict grammatical form in omnes . . . consw/i' 
guineas after trium legionum ossa, and moesti . . . condebant after Romanus 
. . . exercitus. — Nullo noscente. " No one being able to ascertain." — In de- 
tenus trdhenti. "Putting an unfavorable construction upon." — Formidolo* 
siorem. Used here in the rarer sense " fearful of." Elsewhere in Tacitus 
formidolosus always occurs in the sense of " formidable," " to be feared by," 
&c. — Vetustissimis ccerimoniis, &c. By " endowed with most ancient cere- 
monies," Tacitus means, put in possession of the knowledge of them, and 
invested with authority to exercise them. — Attrectare feralia. By contact 
with dead bodies consecrated places (templa) and priests were denied. 

Chap. LXIII. — Campumque .... eripi. This is a phrase borrowed from 
the Roman circus. When four chariots started from the carceres, if that 
which came through the first door- way won the prize,, they said occupavit et 
vicit ; if that which came through the second, successit et vicit ; if that which 
came through the third, eripuit (campum prsscedentibus) et vicit. Compare 
Gronov.j ad loc. — Colligi. " To keep close together."-— Vcrtit. " Wheeled 
about." — Subsidiaries. " Forming the reserve of the cavalry." That they 
were socii is shown by their being called simply cohortes, without mention 
of the contrary ; always so to be understood in Tacitus, unless the context 
itself implies that the case was otherwise. — Trudebanturque. Both eques 
and cohortes. — Ni Caesar, &c. Consult notes on chapters xxiii. and xxxv. 
— Productas legiones instruxisset. " Drawn out the legions in order of bat- 
tle." — Manibus cequis. " On equal terms," i. e., without advantage on either 
side. So " aqua manu," Sail., Cat., 39. 

Litore oceani. Compare u finibus Frisiorum," chap. lx. — Suum militem. 
The legions of Germania inferior, which he usually commanded. Compare 
chap. xxxi. — Pontes longos. These pontes longi were discovered in 1818, 
beneath the marshy soil in the province of Drenthe, not far from Ccevorda 
and Valthe, running from the forest of Weerding to Ter-Haar. They con- 
sist of gravel heaped up and held together by stakes and beams on each side. 
The stakes have been worn away at the extremities by age, but still exist 
beneath the surface. — Aggeratus. " Raised." More literally, "heaped up." 
Compare previous note. — Tenacia gravi cozno. That is, the feet of those 
who stepped upon them stuck in the clay. — In loco. Namely, where he was*. 
— TJt opus et alii, &c. This omission of the first alii is rather violei.t 
Compare Liv., iii., 37 : " Virgis casdi, alii securi subjici" Primum is omit 
ted in a similar manner in chap, lxvii.. : " Tit hi, mox pedes," &c. 

Chap. LXIV. — Stationes. " The outposts." — Lacssunt. In front; cit 
cumgrediuntur, on the flanks ; occursant, the instant the Romans make a 
movement in uiy directicn, especially when they want to prevent those at 
tempting to get in their rear. — Uligine profunda. " Deep with ooze." Lit- 
erally, "of deep ooze." — Gradum. The posture with the legs apart, as foi 
stepping. Compare xiv., 37: " Legio gradi immota ;" and Hist., i\, 35 . 



CHAP. LXV.-LXVII.J ANNALS. 297 

" stabili gradu." Often de gradu dejicere. — Inclinantes jam. The MS. has 
lam, changed by some editors into turn ; but Wolfs correction, jam, gives a 
much clearer sense. Compare Germ., viii. 

Subjecta. " The low grounds." Supply loca. — Duplicatus militi labor. 
That is, they had to do all their work over again. — Medio montium et pa- 
llidum. Before and behind were morasses, on both sides mountains. The 
plain in question he wished to reach on the following day, and, with a view 
to this, adopts the order of march which follows. On this plain he will, then, 
keep off the enemy until the main body of his army has passed. — Tenuem 
acum. " A small army." He intends, as just remarked, to take up a posi- 
tion there with only a part of his force, while the heavier portion of the troops, 
including the wounded and the baggage, pass on. 

Chap. LXV. — Nox per diversa inquies. " The night was a restless one 
(to both armies), but from different causes." — Sonore. A poetical word 
used by Lucretius and Virgil ; by Tacitus also in iv., 48, and xiv., 36. — Re 
sultantes. "Re-echoing." — Invalidi ignes. "Feeble watch-fires." — Voces. 
The cries of the sentinels. — Atque ipsi. This refers to the soldiers in gen- 
eral, as distinguished from the sentinels. — Dira quies. "A direful vision 
during his sleep." — Intendentis, scil. Vari, to drag Caecina along with him. 
— Quamquam liber o incur su. " Although with nothing to impede his attack 
ing." — Fossis. " Holes." Natural holes or pits are here meant. — Utque 
tali tempore. Not a repetition of the ut before hoesere, but " and as is nat- 
ural at such a time." — Adversum. "Towards." — Eodem fato vincta 
M Bound down by the same destiny." 

Simul hcec. Supply dixit. — Scindit. "Breaks through." — Enisce 
" Struggled forth." — Agger. " The materials for the mound," i. e., earth and 
turf for the vallum. — Per qua, &c. Circumlocution, to avoid mentioning 
the common names of the tools. — Fomenta. " Remedies." — Funestas tene 
bras. " The funereal darkness." 

Chap. LXVI. — Vinculis. "His fastenings." — Obturbavit. Equivalen 
here to prostravit. (Bott., Lex. Tac, s. v.). — Consternatio. Supply orta est 
— Decumana. Opposite to the Porta Prastoria. There were also two side 
gates, principalis dextra and sinistra. — Comperto. For quum comperisset.— 
Obsistere aut retinere. " To stop or hold back." — Projectus. " Having flur4 
himself prostrate." 

Chap. LXVII. — Contractos in principia. The principia was the prin- 
cipal street of the Roman camp, stretching right across in front of the tents 
of the tribunes, and one hundred feet wide. In this part of the camp was the 
tribunal, near which the standards were deposited. — Temporis et necessitatis 
monet. "Warns them of the urgent necessity of the crisis." — Hendiadys. 
— Consilio temperanda. " Must be guided by counsel." — Donee expugnandi, 
&c. Dislocation of words from the usual order, where, however, no mis- 
understanding can result. Tacitus has other instances of similar tianspo 

N2 



298 



NOTES ON THE [CH. LXVIII.-LXX 



sition. Thus, " Ereptumjus legatis dussndi in hostem" (xiii., 54) ; and again, 
" Ardore retinendce Agrippinam potential eo usque provectam" (xiv., 2). — Qua 
,n castris honesta. Their character for bravery, keeping their standards, in 
short, their honor as soldiers. — Equos dehinc, &c. The fury of the enemy 
had been principally directed against the horses. Compare chap. lxv. — Ut 
hi. Supply primum. 

Chap. LXVIII. — Agebat. Equivalent, in fact, to the simple erat, though, 
grammatically we may supply noctem or tempus. — Inguiomero. Compare 
chap. lx. — Lceta. " Acceptable." — Proruunt fossas. They break down for- 
ward the banks of the fosses, so as to fill them up, Now, as the banks form 
the foss, and without them it does not exist, what is done with them may bo 
predicated of the whole foss. — Summa valli prensant. Compare Liv., ix 
14, 9 : " Cum pars fossas explerent, pars vellereni vallum atque in fossas pro 
ruerent." — Postquam hcesere munimentis. Meaning that they were all upon 
the fortifications, and were wholly set on carrying them by storm, not that 
they were entangled or had stuck fast any where. — JEquis locis cequos deos. 
As we would say, " equal chances in a fair field." — Excidium, scil. castro- 
rum. — Cogitanti. " Expecting." 

Chap. LXIX. — Pervaserat fama. "A report had spread." — Impositum 
Rheno pontem. As Caecina, with the legions of the Lower Province, fell 
back from the Ems, this bridge must have been at Vetera, where was the 
winter camp of the fifth and twenty -first legions, two of those which Caecina 
commanded. Lipsius is incorrect in referring this bridge to the country of 
the Treveri. — Induit. " Took upon herself." — C. Plinius. Pliny the elder 
He wrote twenty books on the German wars, thirty-one of the history of 
his own times, from the point at which the narrative of Aufidius Bassus 
ceased, and several other works, including a celebrated Natural History. 
This last, in thirty-seven books, is the only production of his which has 
>;ome down to us. — Laudes et grates habentem. The usual phrase for " to 
thank" is grates or gratias agere ; whereas grates or gratiam habere is prop- 
erly " to feel thankful." The plural gratias with habere occurs only in the 
f onnection gratias agere atque habere. 

Non simplices. "Were not without some hidden purpose," i; c, that 
there was some sinister design in all this anxiety on the part of Agrippina. 
— Quceri. "Sought to be won." — Manipulos. The soldiers in camp or 
barracks, where those of the same maniple are more apart from the rest 
This refers to ut quis inops, &c. ; as signa, i. e., the soldiers, when drawn 
out, refers to stetisse apud principium pontis. — Parum ambitiose. " With but 
small tokens (hitherto) of ambitious designs." — Gregali habitu. "In the 
uniform of a common soldier." Compare chap. xli.—Onerabat. "Aggra 
vated." — Odia jaciens. A metaphor from sowing seed. — In longum. To a 
time which does not arrive till long afterward. 



Chap. LXX. — Legionum, quas navibus &c. Compare chap, lx — P. Vit 



CHAP, LXXI.] ANNALS. 299 

tllio. Uncle of the future emperor, A. Vitellius. He was at this time a 
legatus. — Vadoso. Because the fleet kept close in shore. — Reciproco. 
" When the tide ebbed." — Sideret. Off this part of the coast the sea retires 
to a great distance at ebb-tide. — Sidere cequinoctii. " By the influence of 
the equinoctial constellation." From the preceding details of the events of 
this year, it is clear that the autumnal equinox is meant. The constellation 
is Libra. — Opplebantur. "Were completely inundated." From this and 
several passages, it is clear that the coast was not then, as now, protected 
by banks of sand Irom the incursions of the sea. 

Hauriuntur gurgitibus. " Are swallowed up by the eddies." — Inter fiuunt, 
occursant. "Float among, come in contact with them." — Subtracto solo. 
That is, they got out of their depth. — Adversante aqua. " The water oppos- 
ing," i. <?., the noise of the water drowning all such cries. — Sapiens ab rudi. 
" The one who possessed insight from him who was devoid of it," i. e., who 
possessej^agacity to see how the case lay, from him who had none. The 
MS. ha^/Pprudenti. Hence some have conjectured ab imprudenti ; others, 
insciens a prudenti. The simplest and best correction, however, is ab rudi. 
— Sine utensilibus. " Without the ordinary necessaries of life." By uten 
silia are here meant all the ordinary necessaries of life, not merely what we 
call utensils, i. e., implements. Corn is a principal part of these essentials, 
and it is not to exclude it from them that it is specifically mentioned in ii., 
60 : "frumenti et omnium utensilium ;" but to give it prominence by distin- 
guishing it from the rest. 

Usus. "The resource." — Unsingim. There is some difficulty in this 
passage. The MS. has Visurgim, where manifestly there is some error; 
for Vitellius was marching from the mouth of the Ems to the Rhine ; he 
could not come to the Weser. If the mistake was not made by Tacitus, 
but by the transcriber, the most probable correction is Unsingim, which 
would closely resemble it in the writing of the MSS., and might easily be 
corrupted, as the Visurgis was a river much better known to the Romans. 
The modern name of the Unsingis is the Hunse or Hunsing : it runs by 
Groningen. — Submersas. Supply fuisse. — Nee fides salutis. "Nor was 
there any belief in their safety." 

Chap. LXXI. — Jam Stertinius, &c. Stertinius, who was accustomed to 
lead cavalry and light troops (compare chap, lx.), had probably brought back 
from the Ems that part of the cavalry of which it is said (chap, lxiii.), 
"pars equitum litore oceani petere Rhenum jussa" and, on his leaving the 
Ems, received the orders which he here executes. The matter is to be so 
conceived, that Segimerus, during the fightings of this year between German- 
.cus and Arminius, entered into negotiations with the former. As, how- 
ever, the time and place did not seem favorable to his going over, a later 
time, and a place more to the south, were chosen for the purpose, for which 
reason Stertinius did not take him to Vetera, but to the city of the Ubii. 

Filium. Named Sesithacus. Compare Strab., vii.,p.292. — Circumire sau- 
moe. At this time there were no infirmaries in the camps. Compare iv., 63. 



300 NOTES ON THE [cH. LXXIL, LXXIII. 

Chap. LXXIL — Triumphalia insignia. Consult notes on chap jLi. of the 
Azricola. — Ingestion. " Pressed." — In acta sua jurari. Consult notes on 
chap. vii. — Non tamen ideo, &c. " He did not, however, on that account, 
gain credit for a popular spirit." — Legem majestatis. " The law of treason.' 
Supply IcEsae after majestatis. The first law on this subject was that of 
Sulla (Cic. ad Fam., iii., 11). This was followed by two others ; one 
brought forward by Julius Caesar, the dictator ; the other by Augustus. By 
the former, those who were condemned for violence and treason were in 
terdicted from fire and water. This was for the most part abrogated by An 
Sony, after Caesar's death. The latter, which is treated of in the Digests, 
continued long in force, and was amplified and extended, as we find here, 
by Tiberius. After the time of Tiberius, the crimen majestatis might wel 
be called "omnium accusationum complementunC (iii., 38). Impiety toward 
the emperor was included under it (vi., 47). 

Sed alia in judicium veniebant. " But different questions were tried un 
dor it."— Populi Romani. The emphasis lies on this : " of the ^(feian peo 
pie," not merely of an individual, as afterward in the case of an emperor. 
Observe, moreover, the zeugma in minuisset. — Primus Augustus, &c. " Au- 
gustus was the first who took cognizance of libels, under the pretence of 
this law." — Libidine. " By the iicense." — Libido in Tacitus is libertas car- 
ried too far. It is equivalent to licentia or vftptg. — An judicia majestatis 
redderentur. " Whether trials for treason should be had." — Carmina. Some 
of these effusions are given by Suetonius {Tib., 59). 

Chap. LXXIII. — Modicis. " Of moderate fortunes." They belonged to 
the Equites Angusticlavii, as distinguished from the JEquites Illustres. The 
latter were those who had the privilege of wearing the latus clavus. T( 
them belonged the sons of senators before they obtained any offices, and also 
those who possessed the fortune of a senator, and to whom in consequence 
the road to the offices of the state was open. On the other hand, the Equi- 
tes Angusticlavii were those who were not sprung from senators, and who, 
from not possessing more than the ordinary fortune of an eques, were pre- 
cluded from bearing the offices of the state. — Prcetentata crimina. "The 
pretended crimes charged." 

Dein repressum sit, &c. Under Tiberius there was no repression of the 
lex majestatis. Caligula promised to stay it, but did not keep his word {Dio 
Cass., lix., 4). A stop was actually put to it by Claudius, which lasted un- 
til A.D. 62, the eighth year of the reign of Nero {Dio Cass., lx., 3). It was 
again stopped by Vespasian and Titus, but revived once more in full force 
by Domitian. 

Qui 'per omnes domos, &c. Each several domus (this meant only the rich. 
er houses) had its collegium, consisting of the persons belonging to che do- 
mus, and of people who had not themselves a domus. — Numen Augusti. 
This is a conjectural reading ; the MS. has nomen Augusti. — Ludis. Aft 
erward called Ludi Palatini, from the place where they were held. They 
appear tc c* >* been scenic in thei> character (Compare Suet., Cal., *u 



VUAP. LXX1V.J ANNALS. 3Ul 

53.) — Yenditionibus accedant. u Be comprehended in the sales." Literally 
" be added to the sales." — Perinde aistimandum quam. " Was to be regard 
ed in the same light as." 

Chap. LXXIV. — Praztorem Bithynia. Under Augustus it was arranged 
*hat some of the provinces should be immediately under the emperor, and 
others under the senate. The governors of the former, legaii pro pratore , 
or, in the smaller provinces, procuratores, were nominated by the emperor; 
whereas, to the latter governors were sent by the senate, appointed by lot; 
to Asia and Africa, consular men ; to the rest, men who had served as 
praetors. The governors of all senatorial provinces, however, bore the title 
of proconsul. To these senatorial provinces belonged Bithynia, and there- 
fore we find elsewhere (xvi., 15) "proccnsid Bithynia." Here, however, 
Tacitus has prcetorem in reference to the actual relation, as Bithynia was 
properly a praetorian province, and was governed by a person who had been 
pra?tor. So xv., 25 : " Qui pratorum finitimas provincial regebant." 

Majestatis postulavit. u Accused of treason." Connected with this, as 
appears, was a charge of extortion. Compare the end of the present chap- 
ter. Postulare is frequently used in reference to both public and private 
tiials. In the former, it properly means to ask the praetor's permission foi 
Qg an action against any one ; in the latter, to ask his permission to 
impeach anyone. Proi same to be equivalent to accusare. — Sut>- 

scribente Romano Hispone. * ; Roman us Hispo supporting the charge." Suh- 
scribere is applied to both the principal and secondary accuser, from their 
signing their names at the bottom of the indictment. Romanus Hispo is 
found among those of whom the rhetorician Seneca has given sentences 
fiom controversia. 

Qui formam vita iniit. &C. This relates to Crispinus. not to Hispo, as 
appears from what follows : " Marcellum insimulabat .... addidit Hispo.'' 
The clause subscribente Romano Hispone is parenthetical. — Occultis Ubellis. 
M By secret informations." — Postremum. So xi., 2. Commonly ad po sire- 
mum, as in xiii., 46 ; Hist., i., 39. 

Sinistros sermones. u Defamatory discourses." — Inevitabile crimen. Con 
suit notes on chap, xxvii. — Alia in statua, 6zc. Compare Sutt., Tib.. 55. 
"as common enough in the time of Pliny : i; Surdo figurarum discri- 
mine capita permutaniur'' (H. JY1, xxxv., 2). — Ad quod exarsii, dec. This 
was an indignity offered to tyrants, and Mar: a ..is act seemed to 

charge Augustus with being such. In addition to which, as Augustus was 
:: was an act of impiety. — Palam et juratum. Lsually only those, 
who first rogabantur senteniiam, gave their sentence by word of mouth 
(palam) ; and on the opinions thus brought before them the division 
sio), or actual voting, then took place. An oath in the votings of the senate 
was likewise out of the usual course, being taken only on special occasions 
The words quo ceteris eadem necessitas fieret are an addition of Tacitus. 

Censebis. u Will you give your opinion." — Quantoque. Emesti conjee 
tured quandoque, but the alteration is unnecessary. Properly we should 



302 NOTES ON THE [CHAP. LXXV 

have haa a comparative in the second member as well as the first, but Tac 
itus is very lax in the use of such phrases. — Pamitentia pattens. " Sub- 
missive from regret." — Recuperator es. "Commissioners" for estimating 
and reeovering the damages, and making restitution to those who had been 
injured. This cause was tried in the senate, and not before the praetor, in 
compliance with the recommendation of Maecenas to Augustus, that all 
charges against senators, or their wives and children, should be brought be- 
fore the senate. (Dio Cass., lii., 31.) On the other hand, the referring of 
the repetundarum querela to recuperatores was granted by the senate, when 
the person was not accused of having received a bribe for the perpetration 
of particular crimes ; the action thus became one privati juris, and went 
merely to the recovery of the money taken. 

Cha?. LXXV. — Cognitionibus. "With the judicial investigations."—/?! 
cornu tribunalis. "In a wing of the tribunal." The shape of the tribunal 
at first was rectangular, and this form continued as long as the basilicas were 
simply used as courts of justice. But when spacious halls were erected not 
only for the proceedings of the magistrates, but also for the convenience of 
traders as well as loungers, then the semicircular or receding tribunal was 
adopted, in order that the noise and confusion in the basilica might not in 
terrupt the proceedings of the magistrates. In the centre of this semicir 
cular tribunal was placed the curule chair of the praetor, and seats for the 
judices, who sometimes amounted to the number of one hundred and eighty, 
and for the advocates ; while round the sides of the semicircle, called the 
wings (cornua), were seats for persons of distinction. It was on one of 
these cornua that Tiberius sat. — Ne prcetorem curuli depelleret. " That he 
might not dispossess the praetor of his curule chair," i. e., might not sit him 
self as presiding judge. 

Adversus ambitum. "Against illegal influence (on the minds of the 
judges)," i. e., so that illegal influences should avail nothing to sway the 
minds of the judges. This is explained by the addition et potentium preces. 
—Libertas corrumpebatur. Since the judges decided justly, indeed, yet not 
by their free will, but by the will of the emperor. 

Mole publico via. " By the pressure of the public wa)'." The downward 
pressure of the raised way for the street, and also of the aqueduct, forced 
inward the foundations of his house. The stones used for making the pub 
lie roads and building the aqueducts were of an immense size and weight. 
The very carrying of them through the city was, as we learn from Pliny 
(Pan., 51), accustomed to shake the houses. — JErarii prcetoribus. In B.C. 
28, Augustus gave the charge of the cerarium to two prefects, whom he al 
lowed the senate to select from among the praetors at the end of their year 
of office ; but as he suspected that this gave rise to convassing, he enacted, 
in B.C. 23, that two of the praetors in office should have the charge of the 
oerarium by lot. They were called prcetores csrarii. This arrangement cotf 
tinued till the reign of Claudius, who restored to the quaestors the care of 
hhe <zrarivm. Other changes, however, were from time to time made. 



(ZJHAP. LXXVI.] ANNALS. 303 

Subvenit . . . tribuit. From the fiscus, or imperial privy purs i, as in ail 
cases of money given Ly the emperor, where it is not otherwise expressed 
— Erogandce per honesta, &c. " Being fond of paying out money on fair 
occasions," i. e., of being liberal on fair occasions. Erogare is a word spe- 
cially connected with the treasury. — Veniam ordinis. Permission to retire 
from the rank of senator. — Decies sestertium. "A million of sesterces." 
This was the senatorial census or fortune fixed by Augustus. Compare 
Dio Cass., liv., 17, 26. Suetonius (Aug., 41), incorrectly, has duodecies.-~ 
Confessions et benejicio. " To exposure and relief." 

Chap. LXXVI. — Auctus Tiberis, &c. These inundations were always 
considered ill-omened. To prevent them, Augustus widened the bed of the 
river. Trajan dug a canal from the Mulvian bridge through what is now 
called the Valle delV Inferno, in order to draw off its waters. Aurelian se- 
cured the banks of the river with strong walls from the city to Ostia. The 
best plan was that of Julius Caesar, which his death prevented him from 
carrying into effect, namely, to drain the Pontine marshes, and cause the 
Tiber to empty itself into the sea, by a broad and deep canal dug from the 
city to Tarracina. (Suet., Jul., 44.) — Asinius Gallus. Compare chap. xiii. 
— Libri Sibylhni. These were consulted in the case of prodigies and ca 
lamities. They were kept in a stone chest, under ground, in the temple of 
Jupiter Capitolinus. — Remedium . . . mandatum. The curatores alvei Tiber 
ini (Suet., Aug., 37) seem only to have had the charge of cleansing the bed 
of the river. 

Achaiam ac Macedonian!. These were senatorial provinces. Consult 
notes on chap, lxxiv. The governors of these, as they also took with them 
another magistrate, the quaestor, were more expensive to the province. 
There was not only the maintenance of their more numerous train to be 
provided for, but also the various presents to the proconsul and quaestor, 
and their officers ; illegal, indeed, but sanctioned by long usage : and for all 
this there was no remedy, so long as no gross and flagrant extortion was 
practiced. These burdens were increased by the usual yearly change of 
governors. Tiberius, on several occasions, displayed his concern for the 
interests of the provinces (iv., 15; Suet., Tib., 32). — Tradi Caesari. That 
is, they were made imperial provinces. 

Vulgo. The MS. has vulgus. It is uncertain whether vulgo or vulgus is 
the true reading. Formidolosum is very commonly used in this passive 
sense. Some editors retain vn.dgus, and translate it as if ut were introduced 
before formidolosum ; but this is very forced. Others take formidolosum in 
the sense of " timid," agreeing with vulgus. But dicebatur will hardly allow 
us to suppose that vulgus is the subject of arguisse.-—Et pater arguisse dice- 
batur. " And which his father was said to have blamed." — Varie trahebant 
" They construed in various ways." Equivalc; t to alii in meliorem, alii in 
•ptjorem partem trahebant, i. e., vertebant, interpretabantur. — Tristitia ingenii 
" On account of the austerity of his turn of mind." — Materiem. For occasi- 
**iem or opportunitotem. 



304 



NOTES ON THE [cH. LXXVII.-LXXIX. 



Chap. LXXVII. — Proximo priore anno. " In the year immediately pre- 
ceding." Proximo is not without force here : all preceding years would be 
prior es. — Probra. " Insults." — Jus virgarum. " The right of scourging." 
—Quia^divus Augustus, &c. Compare Suetonius (Aug., 45): " Coercitio- 
nem in histriones magistratibus in omni tempore et loco lege vetere permissam 
ademit, pr<zterquam ludis et scena" That is, except during the games and 
on the stage. Exile and imprisonment were the modes of punishment which 
he allowed. 

De modo lucaris. " Concerning the limitation of the pay of the actors," 
The term lucar properly means fees paid to those who took part in the relig 
ious services celebrated in groves. Here it signifies the pay of the actors. 
Theatrical exhibitions were considered partly of a religious character. The 
pay varied at different times ; sometimes it was five, sometimes seven de- 
narii per day. Several emperors, besides Tiberius, found it necessary to 
restrict the practice of giving immoderate sums to actors. — Fautorum. 
" Of their partisans." — Spectantium immodestiam, &c. " Of punishing the 
excesses of the spectators with exile." 

Chap. LXXVIII. — Colonia Tarraconensi. The ancient inhabitants of 
Tarraco, now Tarragona, in Spain, who were not Roman citizens, had erect 
ed an altar to Augustus while yet living. Here the colony of Roman citi- 
zens in that quarter is permitted to build a temple to him, and what is said 
of this example having been followed in all the provinces refers only to the 
cities of Roman citizens (colonies and municipia). For the provincials them- 
selves had already every where built temples to him. — Centesimam rerum 
venalium. " A tax of one in the hundred upon all vendible commodities," 
i. e., one per cent. It is a mistaken assumption that this tax was levied 
only from the auctions, for neither does the general expression rerum venal- 
ium admit of this, nor would such a duty have been specially burdensome 
to the people. Compare ii., 42. 

Militare cerarium, &c. " That upon this tax depended the fund for the 
army." The militare oBrarium was founded by Augustus, A.D. 6, in conse- 
quence of the difficulty which was experienced in obtaining sufficient funds 
from the ordinary revenues of the state to give the soldiers their rewards 
upon dismission from service. — Impnrem .... dimitterentur. The sooner 
they were disbanded, the oftener would the state have to discharge its debts 
due to them. — Proximo seditionis male consulta. " The ill-advised regula- 
tions made in the case of the late sedition." — Sedecim stipendiorum finem. 
That is, the termination of the service at the end of sixteen years. — Abo'- 
ita in posterum. Those who served in Italy, however, were still disbanded 
at the end of sixteen years. (Dio Cass., lvii., 6.) 



Chap. LXXIX. — Actum deinde in senatu, &c. The commission appoint 
ed above (chap, lxxvi.) now makes its report. — Clanis. Now the Chiaca 
or Chiana. A river of Etruria, rising from two small lakes, west of the 
Lake Trasimenus (Lago di Perugia), and falling into the Tiber east of Vul 



CHAP. LXXX., LXXXI.J ANNALS. 305 

sinii. — Arnum. The Arnus is now the Arno. — Inter amnates. Interamna, 
now Terni, lay on the Nar (now the Nera), in Umbria. — In rivos diductus. 
It was proposed to draw it off by channels, so that the water would soak 
away into the land. — Reatini. The inhabitants of Reate, in the Sabine 
country, now Rieti. The lacus Velinus lay between Reate and Interamna. 
— Patriis amnibus. "To the rivers of their respective countries." The 
meaning here given to patriis (belonging to cne's patria) saves the neces- 
sity of changing sociorum to majorum, as §ome do. — Pisonis. Without pros- 
aomen, because the person here meant was mentioned just before (chap. 
Jxxiv.). 

Chap. LXXX. — Poppao Sabino. Consul in 9 A.D. — Additis Achaia ac 
Macedonia. In execution of the decree passed shortly before (chap, ixxvi.). 
For Moesia (south of the Danube, from the Savus to Thrace) was an impe- 
rial province. What follows also refers to the imperial provinces. — Juris- 
dictionibus. The smaller provinces, which, like Judaea, were administered 
by procurators. — Alii, &c. From traduntur the active is supplied. — Nova 
cures. " Of recurring care." — Invidia. " From a malignant feeling." — Anx 
ium. " Irresolute." — Quos egredi urbe, &c. Not that he had made up his 
mind at the time when he appointed them, not to let them leave the city, 
for that would be no hcEsitatio. But, at the moment of giving them their com 
mission, he did not let them go yet ; and this went on (provectus est) so long, 
that he never came to the point of allowing them to go.- — Non erat passurus. 
" He was never willing to send." 

Chap. LXXXI. — Turn primum. Compare chap. xv. — Deinceps. During 
the remaining years of his reign. — Significatione. "Description." More 
literally, "mode of indicating them." — Ambitu. "By intrigues." — Suam 
ad id curam. That is, that he would take care of their interests. — Professos. 
" Had declared their intention (of becoming candidates)." — Si gratia aut 
meritis confiderent. " If they had sufficient confidence in their interest or 
merits." — Inania. " Hollow." — Quantoque majore, &c. In seeming to leave 
matters free, his design, if he had any, was only to betray one or another 
into availing themselves of their seeming freedom of action, that so he might 
discover the daring ones, and be able to destroy them. — Infsnsius servitium 
" A more remorseless servitude." 



BOOK II. 

Chap. I. — Tauro. This part of *he name is added by some one from • 
oat of consuls, such is the Fasti of Antium (Gerhard, Archaeol. Zeitschrift, 
1846, p. 291) : Sisenna Statilius Taurus, L. Scribonius. It is Tacitus's 
practice, except on special occasions, in mentioning men of importance, to 
give only two of their names ; for insignificant persons, or persons univer- 
sally known, he contents himself with a single one. Some editors, there- 
fore, omit Tauro, while others enclose it in brackets. — Coss. The year in- 
dicated is 16 A.D. — Arsacidarum. The Arsacid<z was the name of the Par- 
thian dynasty, from Arsaces, the founder of the Parthian empire. — Exter- 
num. " A foreigner." 

Nam Phraates, &c. Tacitus takes occasion of the expulsion of Vono- 
nes from Parthia and Armenia, which occurred in this year, to explain in 
detail, with a view to the better understanding of what he has to relate con- 
cerning both countries, the relations in which the Parthians, and, in re- 
spect of their connection with them, the Armenians also, had stood to the 
Romans, since the commencement of the rule of Augustus. — Quamquam 
.... Romanos. Under Marc Antony, B.C. 36. Compare Dio Cass., xlix., 
23. — Verier antium officia. " Marks of reverence." Compare the language 
of the Monumentum Ancyranum (tab. 5, 40): " Parthos trium exercituum 
Romanorum spolia et signa reddere mihi, supplicesque amicitiam populi Ro 
mani petere coegi" (B.C. 20). — Partemque prolis. His sons Seraspadanes 
Rhodaspes, Phraates, Vonones, and the two wives and four sons of these. 
• — Haud perinde, &c. These words assign the ground of his sending as 
hostages some of his own offspring ; firmanda amicitia only gives the reason 
why he sent hostages at all. 

Chap. II. — Sequentium regum. Phraataces and Orodes. Compare Jo* 
sephus, xviii., 2, 4. — Ccesar. In this and the next chapter, Augustus. — 
Ad nova imperia. "At the commencement of a new reign." — Ivfectum. 
"'Tainted." — Trucidantium Crassum. Crassus was defeated and slain in 
B.C. 53. — Exturbantium Antonium. Consult notes on chap i. — Raro ve- 
natu. This and the following ablatives belong to accendebat. — Fastu. " His 
laughty contempt." 

Vilissima utensilium, &c. "The most ordinary articles of domestic, use 
Becured under a seal." Literally, " a signet-ring." He imitated the Roman 
custom of sealing up ev^ry thing, to prevent pilfering by slaves. As regards 
utensilium, consult notes on i., 70. — Ignotaz Parthis virtutes, nova vitia. 
"Virtues unknown to the Parthians were to them new vices." Supply 
trant Mis. — Perinde odium, &c. That is, every part of his manners, the 



BK. II., CH. III.-V.] ANNALS. 307 

laudable as well as the bad, was subject to equal hatred, because foreign 
from their own. 

Chap. III. — A-pud Dahas adultus. " Brought up among the Dahae." The 
Dahae were a great Scythian people, who led a nomad life over a great ex- 
tent of country to the southeast and east of the Caspian. Their naaoe still 
remains in the modern Dahistan. — Vacua. "Without a king." — Infida. 
" Wavering." — Artavasden. Antony enticed him (34 B.C.) into his power, 
and kept him prisoner, because he thought he had been betrayed by him in 
the Parthian expedition (B.C. 36). He was put to death 30 B.C. by Cleo 
patra, to whom Antony had- made him over. (Dio Cass., xlix., 39 ; li., 5.) 
— Ejus filius. He was his eldest son. — Tigranes. A younger son of Ar 
tavasdes. taken prisoner with his father, and afterward in the power of Au 
gustus. He was appointed in B.C. 20. — Tiberio Nerone. So the emperor 
Tiberius is named before his accession to power. — Quamquam sociatis, &c. 
That is, although they took partners of the throne and marriage bed from 
among themselves. — More externo. We find this custom among other Ori 
ental nations, and also in the Graeco-iEgyptian line of the Ptolemies. 

Chap. IV. — Sine clade nostra. " Without loss on our part," i. e., without 
great expense of Roman blood. — C. Ccesar. Compare i., 3. He was sent 
to the East during his consulship, in 1 A.D. — Stirpem ejus haud toleravere. 
Compare the language of the Moiiumentum Ancyranum (tab. 5, 30) : " Post 
ejus (Ariobarzanis) mortem jilio ejus Artavasdi (Armeniam tradidi) ; quo 
interfecto Tigranem, qui erat ex regio genere Armeniomm oriundus, in id reg- 
num misi." — Erato. Erato was the sister of a Tigranes, not otherwise 
known, who had probably overthrown Artavasdes. She had then already 
reigned some time after her brother's death. (Dio Cass., lv., 10.) — Ubi 
minitari Artabanus. Tacitus puts the historical infinitive in the protasis 
when a finite verb follows dependent on the same particle. So with ubi, 
xii., 51; Hist., iii., 10; with jpostquam, iii., 26; with ut, Hist., iii., 31. — 
Creticus Silanus. Compare chap, xliii. — Excitum custodia circumdat. That 
is, invites him out of his dominions into Syria, and when he comes there 
sets a guard upon him. — In loco. Compare chap, lxviii. 

Chap. Y. — Suetis. " Accustomed to his command," i. e., attached to him 
from habit. — Acriora. "The more ardent." — Prceliorum vias tractare. 
" Weighed with himself the different methods of bringing on battles." Lit 
erally, " the ways of battles." The reference is to the different possibilities 
of the management of war, so as to bring it to a pitched battle or battles, 
including, of course, the management of the battles themselves. — Tertium 
jam znnu?n belligeranti. In 10 and 11 A.D., Germanicus had commanded 
on the Rhine under Tiberius as his chief; in 13 A.D. he succeeded to the 
command in chief; the war began in 14 A.D. According to Roman usage 
toe current year is taken into the reckoning. 

Acte et justis locis. " In regular battle, and in fit places," i. e., on ground 



308 NOTES ON THE [bK. II., CH, VI. 

adapted to fighting. The reference, of course, is to such ground as Roman 
discipline would consider right and proper, not to forests and marshes, 
where the Germans would have the superiority, with their peculiar mode 
of warfare. — Haud verinde. "Not so much." — Promtam ipsis possessio- 
nem. The possession of the sea is prompt for the Roman, because he can 
forthwith seize it with his fleet ; the German knows it not, because he has 
never attempted to seize it, and from the want of a fleet, and his not know 
ing how to make one, is not in a condition to do so. 

Bellum maturius incipi. The route by sea can be taken earlier in the year 
than that by land, since for the latter to be practicable in the forests and the 
sodden soil of Germany, a longer continuance of heat and dry weather must 
have preceded. The next words refer to the advantage of the route by sea, 
that the legions, once embarked, are not delayed by the necessity of carrying 
their provisions. — Integrum. "Without loss." 

Chap. VI. — Hue intendit. " To this object he directed his efforts." — P. 
Vitellio. Compare i., 70. — C. Antio. Probably the same individual who 
is mentioned in an inscription found in France {Ap. Orell, 1415). — Silius, 
&c. Nipperdey reads Apronius here instead of Anteius (compare i., 56), 
but the alteration is unnecessary. As regards Silius and Carina, compare 
i., 31. — Alice breves, &c. This and the other nominatives that follow, to the 
end of the sentence, are in apposition with naves, which precedes. The or 
dinary vessels of war were commonly of a long size, and were called hence 
naves tonga. — Lato utero. " Broad amidships." — Plana carinis. " Flat 
bottomed." — Pontibus. "With decks." Ships of this kind were usually 
called " naves constratce, and in Greek, KaratypaKTOi. — Augebantur alacri' 
tate, &c. " Were made to assume a still more imposing and formidable ap- 
pearance by reason of the eager spirit of the soldiers," i. e., the eagerness 
and alacrity displayed by them. 

Insula Batavorum. Formed by the northern arm of the Rhine, or Rhine 
of Leyden, the Vahalis {Waal), before its junction with the Mosa (Meuse), 
the Vahalis and Mosa after their junction, and the ocean. This island now 
forms part of the province of South Holland.— In quam convenirent prcedicta. 
" Was appointed as the place of rendezvous." — Bellum. " The seat of war." 
— Continuus. "Flowing on uninterruptedly." — Qua prcevehitur. "Where 
it flows by." Middle force. Prcevehitur for pratervehitur. Compare Hist., 
li— 2. — Ad Gallicam ripam. "Along the Gallic bank." — Verso cognomenio 
.... dicunt. These words are parenthetical. The construction, broken off 
at affiuens, is resumed at mox id quoque. As regards cognomento, consult 
notes on i., 31. — Vahalem. The ancient writers differ respecting the num 
ber of mouths by which the Rhine fell into the ocean. Caesar says that 
tnere are several, but most other writers speak only of two or three. Ac- 
cording to Tacitus, the number was two ; the western was called Vahalis 
till its union with the Mosa, when it took the name of the latter river ; while 
the eastern, which formed the boundary between Gaul and Germany, pre 
served the name of Rhenus. — Mosa flumine. " For that of the River Mosa.' 



8K. II., CH. VII., VIII.] ANNALS. 309 

Chap. VII. — Castellum LuppicB flumini appositum. This fort can not be 
the Aliso mentioned below, otherwise Tacitus would have given its name 
here on the first mention. As the following words show, this castellum was 
very near the sources of the Lippe. Aliso, on the junction of the Lippe and 
the Aliso, which river can not be certainly identified, must therefore have 
been more to the west. — Nuper. Compare i., 62. — Druso sitam. That is, 
to his dis Manibus. — Decucurrit. " Marched in solemn procession." They 
marched three times. This ceremony was called decursio, and was perform- 
ed in honor of a deceased emperor or illustrious commander, either round 
the funeral pile or an altar erected to his memory. — Hand visum. " It did 
not appear worth while." 

Chap. VIII. — Fossam, cui Drusiana nomen. This was a canal, which 
Drusus caused his soldiers to dig in B.C. 11, uniting the Rhine with the 
Yssel. It probably commenced near Arnheim, on the Rhine, and fell into 
the Yssel, near Doesberg. — Eadem ausum. Compare Suetonius, Claud., i. : 
11 Drusus Oceanum septentrionalem primus Romanorum ducum navigavit." 
He also proceeded as far as the Ems. (Strabo, vii., p. 444, A. ; Dio Cass. y 
liv., 32.) — The prayer of Germanicus is, that Drusus would grant that, 
through his example and the memory of his plans and exploits, Germanicus 
and his army may have courage and perseverance to accomplish the same. 
— Lacus. These lakes, as before remarked (compare notes on i., 60), are 
now united in the Zuyder Zee. 

Amisia. " At Amisia." By Amisia is here meant a place on the left 
bank (Icevo amne) of the River Amisia, or Ems. This place, which is not 
mentioned by any other ancient author, is perhaps the same as the town of 
'AjLLCMJEta, noticed by Ptolemy (ii., 11), and the "Aficaaa mentioned by Steph- 
anus Byzantinus as a town of Germany. Compare Ledebur, Land u. 
Volk der Bructerer, p. 180, seqq. INipperdey, w T ho thinks that the River 
Ems is meant, regards Amisia and subvexit as marginal glosses, and makes 
vlassis the subject to transposuit. The explanation which we have given to 
Amisia saves the necessity of all this. — Quod non subvexit. " That he did 
not carry his vessels higher up," i. e., sail higher up. — Transposuit militem. 
" He put the troops over (by bridges)." The error of Germanicus, accord- 
ing to Tacitus, consisted in his not conveying the troops across in his fleet ; 
but it may be observed, in defence of the Roman commander, that the build- 
ing of the bridge was a precautionary measure, in order to secure a speedy 
retreat in case of failure in his military operations. The soldiers could cross 
the bridge, on a retreat, in much shorter time than they could re-embark, and 
after they had crossed, they could break down the bridges and hold the en 
emy at a distance. 

JEstuaria. These were connected with the river, and so near its mouth, 
that the ebb and flow of the tide also acted upon it. — In parte ea. That is, 
m the postremum auxiliorum agmen. — Dum insult ant aquis. "While they 
play with the waves," i. e., sport with and show their contempt of them.— 
Amsivariorum. The MS. has Angrivariorum. which most editions follow ; 



310 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. IX.-XI 

but the Angrivani dwelt between the Visurgis ( Weser) and the Elbe, and 
the next chapter shows that Germanicus had not yet crossed the Visurgis. 
The Amsivarii ("dwellers on the Ems") were to the west of this river.— 
Stertinius. Compare i., 60. 

Chap. IX. — Cognomento Flavus. " By appellation Flavus." This was 
the name given him by the Romans, probably on account of the color of 
his hair, which was common to so many of the Germans. Many editions 
have Flavins, but this is a nomen gentilicium, and, of course, out of place 
here. — Faucis ante annis, duce Tiberio. Compare i., 34. — Turn permissum 
For conference with enemies the general's permission must always be ob 
tained. We have retained the common reading, though an extremely awk 
ward one, on account of the presence of turn at the beginning of the sen 
tence. We may render " permission was thereupon given." Many fruit 
less attempts have been made at emendation. Nipperdey reads Turn per 
missu, and supposes something to have fallen out of the text, which he com 
pletes as follows : " Turn permissu imperatoris deducitur a Stertinio, progres 
susque," viz., from the place to which he had been conducted. — Deformitas 
oris. His loss of an eye. — Servitii. " Of his (Flavus's) slavery ;" not oJ 
slavery in general. 

Chap. X. — Diversi. " In different strains." Referring to the purport of 
their speeches. — Conjugem et filiwn ejus. Compare i., 57. — Fas patrice 
"The sacred claims of country." — Penetrates Germanice decs. "The na 
tional gods of Germany." As every house has its Penates or dii penetrales, 
so the proper national gods are the dii penetrales of the whole nation. These 
are to all Germany what the Penates are to each household ; and again, as 
the household deities were kept in the innermost part of the dwelling, so 
there is an allusion here to the sacred and retired groves where the pene- 
trates Germanice dei were believed to abide. — Precum sociam. " Who joined 
in his prayers." — Imperator. As son of a chieftain. Flavus was marked 
out by his birth to be a commander of his people. The terra imperator is 
used of barbarian commanders also in ii., 45; xii., 33 : " Britannorum im 
peratores" — Pleraque Latino sermone interjaciebat. "He interlarded the 
greater part of his speech with Latin expressions." 

Chap. XI. — Hand imperatorium. "Not becoming a commander." — E 
numero primipilarium. " Of the number of the primipilares" i. e., those who 
had been chief centurions. Those who had been leaders of the first century 
of a legion (primipilaris from primipilus, in the same signification as con 
sularis from consul) received census as equites, and, if they continued to 
serve, were appointed to prefectures. — Erupit. " Dashed through." — Sal- 
tibus. The ablative, and the construction is the same as in the phrase cir- 
cumdare aliquid aliqua re. — Scevitia. "The fury." — Globo. "In a solid 
body." — Densissimos irrumpens. In the sense of " to break into a thing," 
■o as to make one's way into it, to effect a lodgment, Tacitus constantly 



BK. II., CH. XII.-XIV.] ANNALS. 31 J 

gives to irrumpere the accusative without a preposition, a construction to 
which he is generally partial in verbs compounded with prepositions. 

Chap XII. — Silvam Herculi sacram. Compare Germ., ii., ix., and xxxiv. 
— Ignes. The German camp-fires. — Inconditi. "Tumultuous." — Incorrup- 
turn for et. "Might be clearly ascertained (by him)." Literally, "might 
be uncorrupted," i. e., genuine, true.— Lata. " Agreeable in their nature." 
— Secrcti et incustoditi. "By themselves and free from all restraint." — 
Slpem aut metum proferrent. " They gave unreserved utterance to their 
hopes or their fears." 

Chap. XIII. — Egressus augurali. "Having gone out from the place for 
taking auspices." In every Roman camp, to the right of the general's tent, 
was a place called Augurale, where the auspices were taken, &c. Ger- 
manicus passes out by this unusual way in order to escape observation. — 
Vigilibus ignara. That is, where no sentinels were posted. — Fruiturque 
fama sui. " And listens with delight to what is said of himself." — Decor em. 
"His fine person." — Eundem animum. "The evenness of his temper." — 
Perfidosetruptorespacis. By their conduct to Varus. — JPugna. "An op- 
portunity of fighting."- — Tertia ferme vigilia. The Romans divided the night 
into four watches. — Sine conjectu teli. Because they did not come within 
reach of missiles. 

Chap. XIV. — Loetam quietem. Compare i., 65. — Operatum. " Engaged 
in sacrifice." Operari is "to set one's self," or "to be set at work" and 
operatus, like occupatus, means " at work," " actively engaged," and is here, 
as frequently elsewhere, applied to a holy action, i. e., " during sacrifice," 
not "after he had sacrificed." "We must not supply esse with operatum; 
the participle stands with vidit, just as does the infinitive, connected with it 
by et. — Augusta. Livia. — Auctus. "Elated." — Addicentibus. "Proving 
favorable." Literally, " assenting." — Pravisa. Supply essent. In the 
speech that follows, no mention is made of the things which had beep 
wisely seen to beforehand (sapientia proviso) ; while of the apta pugnce he 
mentions only a part. What he has not detailed he considered, because 
frequently occurring in warfare, to be not worth noticing. 

Ratio. "Due circumspection." — Perinde haberi quam. "Are managed 
in the same manner as," i. e., are as effectual as. With regard to the force 
of haberi here, compare the German " handfta&e?i," which is closely analo- 
gous to it. — Hcerentia. " Fitting." The reference is not only to the close- 
fitting armor of the Roman soldiery, but also to the form of the legionary 
shield, with the sides curved round so as to fit the body. The German 
shield, on the contrary, was flat. Compare chap. xxi. — Nervo. ' ' With hide." 
Compare Sil. Ital. (iv., 293) : " Subtextaque tegmina nervu " — Tabulas. 
" Boards." — Primam utcumque aciem hastatam. " That their first line was 
armed with pikes, no matter how." Observe the force of utcumque. The 
speaker does not choose to go into the account of the " how, e and by this verj 



312 NOTES ON THE [ BK. II., CH. XV., XVI, 

circumstance shows that there is but an indifferent account to be fiven of 
it.— Telm, Stakes." 

Ad brevem impetum validum. Compare Germ., iv. — Sine cura ducum. 
" Without any respect for their leaders." — Pavidos adversis. " Cowards in 
adversity." — Hac acie. " By this battle." — Patris patruique. Both pene- 
trated as far as the Elbe. Compare D o Cass., Iv., 1 ; Veil., ii., 106. 

Chap. XV. — Hos esse Romanos, &c. Arminius calls the soldiers of Ger 
manicus the most runaway part of the army of Varus, as if Germanicus led 
with him only the poor remains left by the Varian overthrow. In so saying, 
however, he thinks not merely of the few who had escaped of the three le- 
gions with which Varus was present in person, but also of the two legions 
whom Asprenas, their commander, the nephew of Varus, saved {Veil, 
Paterc, ii., 120). — Quorum pars, &c. They give their backs to the enemy, 
because, as soon as it comes to fighting, they will turn to flight. With 
these words those are described who had retreated in the preceding year with 
Csecina; and, in pars fluctibus, &c, those who had then retreated with Vi- 
tellius. Compare i., 63, seqq. — Boni. "Of success." More literally, u of 
any thing favorable." 

Classem quippe, &c. The idea is this : their motive for having recourse 
to a fleet, and to the pathless regions of Ocean, was, that no one might op- 
pose them as they approached, or pursue them when repulsed ; but when 
they engaged hand to hand, vain would be the help of winds and oars after 
a defeat. — Aliud sibi reliquum, &c. The interrogative particle is wanting. 
Compare Madvig, ^ 450. 

Chap. XVI. — Idistaviso. The nominative, not the dative ; for Tacitus, 
in this connection, has the dative only with adjectives (i., 31 ; ii., 8 ; Hist., 
li., 43 ; iii., 6 ; Germ., xxxiv.) ; otherwise usually the nominative (i., 45 ; 
ii., 4, 80 ; iii., 21, 42 ; iv., 25, 28, 72 ; v., 1 ; vi., 28 ; xi., 4 ; xii., 13 ; xiii., 
12 ; xv., 45 ; Hist., iv., 26) ; rarely the genitive (iv., 59 ; xiv., 50 ; xv., 37 ; 
Hist., iv., 18). The plain Idistaviso was probably in the neighborhood of 
the Porta Westphalica, between Rinteln and Hausberge. Grimm ( Gramm. 
Introd., p. xlii.) explains the name by " Schimmerwiesc" i. e., " Glimmer- 
mead ;" the same writer, however, in his Deutsche Mythologie, p. 372, 
conjectures the true reading to be Idisiaviso, " Nymphenwiese," i. e., 
hi Nymphs'-mead." — Ripa fluminis. Here all the flat country is meant on 
the sides of the river, in opposition to the mountains ; just as we, in the 
case of rivers bordered by mountains, speak of narrow and broad banks. 
These banks cedunt, " recede," as stretching inland, and therefore are 
broad ; in other places they are opposed by projecting mountains, which do 
not allow them to spread out. — Pone tergum. Of the last mentioned, name 
ly, the Germans. 

Campum, &c. The order of battle, according to the description hei<5 
given, is to be conceived as follows : The wing next the river was in the 
foTest, the other on the open pfcin, either because the forest nearer to the 



BK. IK, CH. XVII.-X1X.J ANNALS. 313 

river ran more out to a point, or the line of battle passed somewhat oblique- 
ly from the forest over the plain. On the wing which stood on the plain 
were, more forward, the hills which the Cherusci had occupied. — Proetoriis 
cohortibus. As Prcetorias cohortes is the standing expression in this age for 
the Praetorian guards regularly quartered in Rome, and as we can not sup 
pose that the two cohorts here mentioned were formed by Germanicus out 
of his own army, after the example of the generals of the republic ; and, 
moreover, as they do not occur before ; Nipperdey thinks that they were 
sent this year from Rome, and that Tacitus did not think it worth his while 
to mention this circumstance in its place. Ritter, on the other hand, makes 
*hem to have beei the united body-guard of Caecina and Silius, whose two 
irmies were now joined under Germanicus, and he therefore translates, 
H with both the praetorian cohorts." Nipperdey's view is that of Orelli, and 
appears the more correct. 

Ut ordo agniinis in aciem, &c. " That the order of march might form the 
order of battle when they halted." The before-mentioned bodies of troops 
(with the exception of the cavalry w^ho were otherwise disposed of) were 
to form themselves behind one another in order of battle, just in the order in 
which they had marched. 

Chap. XVII. — Validissimos equitum, &c. These were to charge in flank 
the Cherusci and the wing which was beside them on the plain ; Stertinius 
to fetch a compass round the wood (hence he afterward first dislodges the 
other wing out of the wood by attacking them from behind, and drives them 
over the plain) ; and Germanicus, with the infantry, will charge in front. — 
Tmperatorem advertere. " Caught the eye of the commander." — Propria leg- 
ionum numina. " The own guardian-spirits of the legions." Nnmina must 
not be rendered here "gods," for the eagles were never regarded in that 
light, but as sacred creatures in virtue of their relation to Jupiter. 

Medii inter hos, &c. The wing which had stood beside the Cherusci, but 
farther back, fled into the wood, the other fled out of the wood ; the Che- 
rusci were forced down into the plain, so that the former portion of the fu- 
gitives came to be on one side of them, and the other on the other. — Ilia 
rupturus. Scil. Aciem Romanam. — Emissumque. " And allowed to escape." 
— Tranare Visurgim conantes. These were principally those who had fled 
out of the wood into the open plain. — Moles ruentium. "The mass of the 
rushing crowd." — Incidentes. " Falling upon them." — Prorutaz arbores affiix- 
ere. " The trees when felled dashed to the ground." 

Chaps. XVIII. and XIX. — In Romanos. That is, with which to bind the 
Roman captives. — Tiberium imperatorem salutavit. In the ancient significa- 
tion of the word. Consult notes on i., ?. Tiberius was thus saluted, be- 
cause, under the empire, all wars were conducted under the auspices of 
the emperors. — In modum tropceorum. The custom of erecting trophies w r as 
jorrowed by the Romans from the Greeks. It was more common, however 
o erect some memorial of victory at Rome than on the field of battle — 

o 



1 



314 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XX., XXl. 

llaud perinde quam. " Not in the same degree as," i. e., far less than. — 
Abire sedibus. The employment of abire with the bare ablative is late Lat- 
inity In the metaphorical sense, however, the construction "magistratu 
abire" ( 1'ac, iv., 19 ; v., 11 ; xiii., 44) is found in Cicero, De Repub., i., 4-7 • 
" Consulatu abiens." Livy has it frequently. 

Postremo deligunt locum, &c. The river was one of the tributaries of tho 
Weser, or, more probably, of the Elbe. This river and the woods enclosed 
except on one side, the plain which lay before the woods (toward the Ro 
mans). In the rear the woods were surrounded by a deep morass, except 
on the side farthest off from the river, next to the plain, where was the dam 
(agger). This was a partition or boundary dam ; for in the engagement all 
the Germans were on the same side of the dam, in the forest. The Angri- 
varii dwelt on the north of the Cherusci. Compare notes on chap. viii. — 
Extulerant. " Had elevated." 

Chap. XX. — Promta, occulta. " Their overt movements, their concealed 
measures." Promta refers to the infantry marshalled openly in the plain ; 
occulta to the cavalry concealed in the neighboring groves. — Seio Tuberoni. 
Brother of Sejanus. He was consul suffectus afterward, in 18 A.D. He 
seems, according to Nipperdey, to have taken the place of Apronius, who r 
at the beginning of this campaign, would appear to have returned to Rome, 
— Campumque. This lay before the planities mentioned in the previous 
chapter. The asquus in silvam aditus (afterward plana) is the one above that 
planities. — Eniteretur. " Might force their way up." — Permisit. Hence 
supply to sibi the general notion of " assigned" or " allotted," obtained bj 
zeugma from permisit, which has otherwise the force of " committed." 

Funditores libratoresque. "The slingefcs andhurlers of lances." The li 
bratores were those who attacked the enemy by hurling with their own hand 
(librando) lances or spears against them. During the time of the republic 
they are not mentioned in the Roman armies. — Misses e tormentis hastes 
This was done by a third class of soldiers, quite different from the two just 
mentioned. — Collato gradu. " Foot to foot." — Utrisque necessitas in loco 
^hat is, there was no room for either to retreat. 

Chap. XXI. — Artis locis. "In narrow places."— Colligeret. "Draw 
them in." Said of the drawing back of the spear, while one hand, advanced 
before the other, grasps the shaft and draws it back ; properly, "gather in." 
The metaphor comes from this, that, in drawing back the spear, the move 
ment is the same as drawing in and gathering up a rope. — Stabile pralium 
"A stationary mode of fighting." — Scutum pectori adpressum, &c. The 
shield of the legionary soldier was four-cornered, and not flat, but, as before 
remarked, with the sides curled round so as to fit the body. With his short 
sword the Roman thrust, while the German had to heave his long broad 
sword for a cutting stroke. — Insidens capulo. " Settling firmly on the hilt, 
». « , firmly grasping the hilf of his sword. — Impromto. " Less actir» iD kw 
ttovemf t« " — Ambigut. "With doubtful succasa." 



BK. If., CH. XX11.. XXIII.] ANWALS. 315 

Chap. XXII. — Pro condone. M Before a public assembly/' Compare 
notes on i., 44. — Conscientiam facti satis esse. " That the consciousness of 
what he had done was sufficient," i. e., of his own merit. — Amsivarios. 
Here, again, the MS. has Angrivarios. But Germanicus was among the An 
grivarii (chap, xix.), and therefore would have gone against them in person , 
for that he should have retired himself, and left Stertinius alone among the 
most powerful nations in the heart of Germany, is not to be thought of. It 
is also incredible, that of the principal nations fought with, Catti, Cherusci, 
and Angrivarii, the only one to surrender should have been just the most 
remote (Angrivarii) ; and, in fact, the contrary appears from chap. xxvi. : 
1 Nee dubium habebatur labare hostes petendceque pads consilia sumere, et,si 
proximo, asstas adjiceretur, posse bellum patrari." Compare chap. xli. For 
the latter reason, Amsivarii must also be written in chap, xxiv., where, again, 
the MS. has Angrivarii. Stertinius had already (chap, viii.) made an incur- 
sion upon the revolted Amsivarii ; now he hastens in advance to effect theii 
entire subjection, while the rest of the army returns by slower marches 
Thus, by the mention of the Amsivarii we are suitably brought to the Ems 
where we find the army in the beginning of the next chapter. 

Chap. XXIII. — JEstate jam adulta. " It being now midsummer." The 
ancients distinguished the three months composing each of the four seasons 
by particular epithets. Thus the first month of spring was called novum vei , 
the second, adultum ver ; the third, prasceps ver. So, in the case of the sum 
mer months, we have asstas nova, adulta, and prceceps. The same nomen- 
clature was adopted in the case of autumn and winter. Compare Serv. ad 
Virg., Georg., i., 43. — Mills navium. Compare chap. vi. — Yelis impelli. Im 
mediately the sea is put in motion by the ship, not by the sails; but me- 
diately by the sails, inasmuch as these put the ship itself in motion. — IncerU 
fluctus. " The billows rolling now in this direction, now in that." — Regx 
men. " The proper management of the vessels." — Offida prudentium coj 
rumpebat. " Rendered unavailing the services of the skillful." 

In austrv.m cessit. " Fell into the possession of the south wind," i. e. 
was swept by a south wind; because, as it were, its booty. The wind 
however, came, as the following narrative shows, not quite from the south, 
but somewhat from the southwest. — Qui tumidis Germanics terris, &c. 
"Which wind, as the natural consequence of the oozy lands of Germany, 
of its deep rivers, being made strong by an immense train of clouds, and 
rendered still harsher by the rigor of the neighboring north," &c. Observe 
that terris and amnibus are ablatives absolute, while immenso nubium tractu 
expresses the cause. The moist land and the rivers by their evaporation 
form enormous clouds, which give the winds their strength. The term tumi 
disj which some mistranslate ' ; mountainous," means here, properly, " swell 
ing with moisture." Compare Virg., Georg., ii., 324, "Yere tument terras" 

Mutabat cestus, 6zc. Before this, the set of the tide was against the wind, 
and so had, in some measure, counteracted its violence. Mutabat intrans 
itivelv. as in xii.. 29: M Diutruniiate in superbiam mutans"-—Mar.antes ner 



316 



NOTES ON THE [bK. II., CH. XXIV.-XXVI. 



iatera, &c. The interior of the ships was dripping wet from two causes ; 
first, because the joints had given way, and let in the water through the 
sides ; and then, because the waves broke over the deck. 

Chap. XXIV. — Prastat. With this verb and excessit, which follows, the 
object surpassed is omitted, because evident enough from the context, aliis 
terris and alias clades. — Litoribus. Ablative absolute. So mari immediately 
after. — Ut credatur, &c. "As to be believed to be the last, and without 
any lands beyond," i. e., to be the limit of the world, and unbounded by lands. 

— Insulas longius sitas. On the west coast of Schleswig, different from 
those mentioned in the previous chapter, which lie along the coast from the 
Weser to Holland. — Nullo illic hominum cultu. " There being there no trace 
of human culture." — Toleraverant. The pluperfect in reference to the more 
recent portion of the past lying before the writer, namely, the time when 
they were brought off from the desert islands. 

Scopulos. There are no rocks on the coast between the Ems and tlie 
Weser ; it can only mean elevations in the line of the coast, or, in other 
words, earth-cliffs, which at a distance might appear as scopuli.—Oppeteret. 
Supply mortem. — Claudce naves, &c. " The shattered ships returned, with 
but few oars remaining, or with garments spread for sails." — Amsivam. 
Consult notes on chap. xxii. — Regulis. " The petty kings of that island." 

— Ambiguas hominum et belluarum formas. "Ambiguous forms between 
man and beast." — Credita. " Believed to have been seen," t. e., fancied. 

Chap. XXV. — Ad coercendum. " To check them." — C. Silio, &c. The 
object of this expedition was to compel the Catti to inactivity by the pres- 
ence of an army on their frontier. As it did not come to any active meas- 
ures with them, nothing farther is related of the expedition.- — Variance legi- 
onis aquilam, &c. One eagle, that of the nineteenth legion, had already 
been found (i., 60). A third was recovered in the reign of Claudius (Dio 
Cass., lx., 8). The account given by Florus (iv., 12, 37) is incorrect, who 
makes two eagles to have still remained in possession of the Germans.- 
Exscindit. " Exterminates." 



Chap. XXVI. — Pensavisset. "They had balanced." — Muniftce?iliam. 
" A munificent liberality." — Labare. " Were tottering," i. e., in courage and 
resolution. — Ad decretum triumphum. Compare i., 55. — Eorum. " Those 
losses." — Sic Sygambros in deditionem acceptos. Part in B.C. 8 ; another 
part was exterminated, few remained on the right bank. Compare Sueto- 
nius (Aug., 21) : " (Augustus) Ubios et Sygambros dedentes se traduxit in 
Galliam, atque in proximis Rheno agris collocavit ;" and again ( Tib., 9) : 
" Germanico (belio Tiberius , quadraginta millia dediticiorum trajecit in Gal- 
liam, juxtaque ripam Rheni sedibus assignatis collocavit." Compare also 
Strabo, vii., p. 444, A. and Tac, xii., 39. — Suevos regemque Maroboduum, 
Consult notes on chap. xlvi. 

Acrius modestiam ejus aggreditur. i ' He assails his modesty with increased 



UK. IT., CH. XXVII., XXVIII. J ANNALS. 317 

importunity." — Cujus munia praesens obiret. "The out:ss of which he 
would have to discharge in person," i. <?., the duties of which would requiie 
his presence at Rome. This was not the case afterward. Compare chap- 
ters xlii. and liii. — Materiem Drusi fratris gloria. " Materials for the fame 
of his brother Drusus." Tiberius speaks as the adoptive father of German- 
icus. — Hoste. Ablative absolute. — Nomen imperatorium. Consult notes or t 
i., 3. — Et deportare lauream. " And (in this way) bear the bay (unto the 
capitol)." The deportare lauream or laurum was the principal act of the 
triumph, as the procession was to the capitol, and here the general deposited 
on the knees of Jupiter his bay-wreath, the branch of bay which he bore in 
his hand, and the bay with which the fasces were adorned. In the imperial 
times, the process was sometimes reduced to the summary act of merel} 
bearing the bay to the capitol, without the other pomp of the triumphal pro- 
cession. Here, however, a complete triumph is meant. 

Chap. XXVII. — Defertur. "Js accused." — Ordinem. "Progress."— 
Curatius. Compare note on curatissimis, i., 13. — Rem publicam exedere. 
" Preyed upon the state." The trade of the informers, who, under the show 
of friendship, collected matter of accusation against their unconscious vic- 
tims, and even enticed and entrapped them into unlawful actions, is here 
referred to by Tacitus. — Ex intima Libonis amicitia. " Availing himself of 
an intimate friendship with Libo." — Facilem inanibus. " Lending «ui easy 
ear to impositions." For faciles aures prcebentem inanibus. (Botticher, Lex. 
Tac, p. 192.) — Chaldceorum. Astrologers, called also mathematici. 

Proavum Pompeium, &c. " That Pompey was his great-grandfather," &c. 
Pompey was his great-grandfather on the mother's side. Scribonia was the 
sister of his grandfather, and consequently his great aunt (amita magna). 
His father was adopted by the father of Livia, and therefore was called M. 
Livius Drusus Libo. In consequence of this adoption, the father of our 
Drusus Libo and Livia were brother and sister, and to our Drusus Libo the 
sons of Livia, namely, the Emperor Tiberius and his brother Drusus, were 
consobrini in the narrower sense ; in a wider sense, so were also their sons 
and grandsons ; consequently, all the living Casares (Borghesi, ad 7oc.).— - 
Necessitatum. " Embarrassments." More literally, " straits." He sought 
to raise money himself, and in his name. — Indiciis. " Evidences of his 
guilt." 

Chap. XXVIII. Et qui servi eadem noscerent. " And some slaves who 
would acknowledge the same things (with these witnesses)," i. e., would 
acknowledge these same things as known to them, when they should be put 
before them in the examinations. Noscere is here employed in a narrower 
sense than ordinary, of one who avouches that he knows, since otherwise hi* 
knowledge is merely surmised. — Proprior usus. "A closer intimacy."-— 
Congressus. " An interview." — Posse enim, &c. " For that his communi- 
cations can come through the medium of the same Flaccus." — Tentatus,ut 
infernas, &c. " Who had been solicited (by him) to evoke by inc&ntations 



&18 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XXIX., XXX. 

the shades of the lower world," i. e., to raise ghosts. — Senatus cognitionem. 
"A taking cognizance of the charge on the part of the senate," i. f., that the 
senate take cognizance of the charge. 

Chap. XXIX. — Vocem poscere. " Solicited their intercession." — Frairi, 
The consul ordinarius of this year (A.D. 16), namely, L. Scribonius Libo. 
He is not marked by Tacitus as consul, because he had already laid down 
his office. For the ordinarii held office only till the 15th of July, and then 
the suffecti took their place. The judicial process took place later than this. 
Compare chap, xxxii. — Tendens. Metaphorically connected also with sup- 
pikes voces. Compare Virgil, JEn., iii., 176: " Tendooue supinas ad cozlum 
cum voce manus." Similarly, Hist., i., 63. — Libellos. " The articles against 
him," i. e., the written informations.— Auctores. Those who handed in the 
written charges, and were therein alleged as " witnesses." — Moderans. 
" Restraining himself." Supply sibi. 

Chap. XXX. — Fonteius Agrippa. Compare chap, lxxxvi. — C. Vibtus. 
C. Vibius Serenus, the father. Compare iv., 13, 28, seqq. — Jits perorandi 
1 The right of delivering the principal speech for the prosecution." It was 
made at the close of the examination on the evidence. — Singillatim se crim- 
ina objecturum. " That he would bring forward the different charges one 
by one," i. e., that he would not make a continuous speech, but bring for- 
ward the accusations separately, so that Libo would be allowed to defend 
himself upon each point as it was brought forward. — Libellos. "Papers 
(o^Libo)." — Quis. Ablative. — Si mollius acciperes. Like our "to apply a 
milder term to them." 

Vni tamen libello. Supply inesse from the preceding inerant. On additas 
depends the other dative nominibus. — Atroces. In regard of their import, 
whether it was that to these marks there was ascribed a magical effect 
against the persons so denoted, or that Libo was said to have marked the 
persons for such as he had evil designs against. — Agnoscentes servos. Con 
suit notes on chap, xxviii. — Qucestio. " A putting of slaves to the question/ 
— Actori publico. " To the public steward." The actor publicus was a state 
slave attached to the cerarium, of whose duties nothing is known for certain, 
except that transfers of property to the cerarium were made to him, because 
he, as a slave, could acquire property only for his owner, the state. In the 
same case as here, he appears in iii., 67; and the actor publicus of a muni- 
cipium, in Plin., Ep., vii., 18, is mentioned in connection with the acquisi- 
tion of a piece of land by the town. 

Posterum diem. That is, an adjournment till the next day. — Quirino. 
We have given this form of the name with Ritter and others. Nipperdey, 
however, reads Quirinio, which would make the full name to have been P. 
Sulpicius Quirinius, and the individual in question to have had two gentile 
names, an anomaly which he seeks to defend from the Fasti Prcenestmt 
(under the dates of the 6th of March and 28th of April) and from an inscrip- 
tion in Orelli, n. 623. 



BK. IL, CH. XXXf.-XXXill.] ANNALS. 319 

Chap. XXXI. — Ipsis epulis excruciatus. The luxurious meal, taken in 
his feverishly excited condition, caused him the pangs of bodily indisposi- 
tion — Percussorem. " Some one to slay him." — Inserere gladium. " Put 
a sword into them." — Feralibus jam sibi tenebris. " Amid darkness which 
for him already was the darkness of death," because he did not live to see 
the light again. — Abstitit. "Retired." — Asseveratione. "Formality." — 
Petiturum. Supply fuisse. Tacitus omits it, when the preceding context, 
or the immediate sequel in the same sentence, leaves no doubt that the past 
time is meant. 

Chap. XXXII. — Pratura extra ordinem dates. Before it came to be their 
turn, in the regular course of the legal requirements, to hold this office. In 
any case they all had the same number of years remitted to them, and it is 
therefore probable that they did not all take office as praetors in one and the 
same year, since the time which, by law, they would have to wait would 
not be the same for all. In this year, which soon came to an end, none of 
them held this office. From the complaint of Vibius, " suum tantum studi- 
um sine fructu fuisse" (iv., 29), it appears that of the accusers he alone was 
a Roman knight. — Cotta Messalinus. Son of the celebrated Messala Cor- 
vinus. Compare notes on i., 8. — Exsequias comitaretur. The imagines were 
brought out at funerals. The imago of Libo was of course destroyed. — 
Pomponii Flacci. He was then consul designatus. 

L. P. et Gallus Asinii. The MS. merely has L. P. et Gallus Asinius, 
and it has been generally supposed that under the letter P. there lurks some 
name which has come down to us only in this mutilated state. Various con 
jectures have, therefore, been formed, some making P. stand here for Piso t 
others for Pcetus, &c. We have given the ingenious emendation of Lipsius, 
to which Hermann inclines, and which refers to three of the name of Asin- 
ius, the letters L. P. being two prasnomina. — Auctoritates. " The sugges 
tions." — Mathematicis. "Astrologers," called also Chateau Compare 
chap, xxvii. — Saxo. " The Tarpeian rock," on the west side of the capitol. 
It is frequently mentioned in this way without the addition of the adjective. 
—Extra portam Esquilinam. On the east side of the city. The Campus 
Esquilinus was the usual place for executions. — More prisco. More com- 
monly more majorum ; execution by the axe, when the criminal had first been 
beaten with the rods. — Advertere. For animadvertere. 

Chap. XXXIII. — Ministrandis cibis. " For serving up repasts." — Vestis 
Serica. A vestment made of transparent silk. The raw material was ob- 
tained from the Seres, a people of the far East, whose country, Serica, is 
supposed to have comprised Bucharia, Kotschotei, and a part of northwestern 
China. It was brought to the island of Cos, and there manufactured into an 
article of dress. Compare Seneca, De Ben., vii., 9, 5. — Excessit. "Went 
beyond this," i. e., beyond the purport of the decree just mentioned. This 
decree, which was passed at the close of the proceedings, is mentioned at 
Jie outset in a cursory way, as is the speech of Fronto. Now the details 



320 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XXXIV., XXXV 

are given concerning the speech, and the proceedings to which it gave rise. 
— Modum. "A limit." — Families. "The number of slaves." — Fitquef^s. 
" Common." Latinity of the silver age. 

E vetustissimis moribus. " Followed naturally from the most primitive 
usage." — Cuncta referri, &c. " That all things are to be estimated by refer- 
ence to the state," i. e., regulate themselves according to the state, depend 
upon the state. — Gliscere. " Rose in the splendor of their mode of living." 
— Nimium aliquid aut modicum, &c. " Was any thing excessive or moder- 
ate, except according to the means of the possessor," i, e., was there any 
standard of excess or frugality, but from the means of the owner. — Distincto?. 
From that of the other citizens. So to diversi we must supply ** their cen- 
sus," namely, from the census of the other citizens. The senatorial census 
was fixed, under Augustus, at 1,000,000 sesterces. The equestrian census 
was 400,000 sesterces. — Sed ut locis, ordinibus,&c. "But in order that 
they may excel in place, rank, and honors." Locis refers to seats in the 
theatre. In the circus they did not receive this distinction till a later pe- 
riod. — Ordinibus refers to the forming of two higher orders apart from the 
other citizens. — Taliaque ad requiem, &c. The true reading here is ex- 
tremely doubtful. We have adopted that of Oberlin. — Nisi forte, &c. 
The accusative and infinitive, instead of a subjunctive sentence, the sub- 
ordinate sentence of the oratio obliqua being treated just in the same way 
as the primary sentence. 

Facilem assensum, &c. The meaning is this. The sentiments of Gallus 
met with a ready assent. Those who spoke were not ashamed to confess 
their vices, by clothing them in language which belonged to virtue, while 
those who spoke not sympathized with them from the similarity of their own 
habits. — Censures. "For correcting such matters," i. e., for making such 
sweeping and general reforms. — Defuturum corrigendi auctorem. "Will 
there be wanting one to correct the evil." 

Chap. XXXIV. — Inter quas. " In the course of these proceedings." — X. 
Piso. Piso said what follows in delivering his opinion on this occasion. — 
Ambitum. " The intrigues." The reference is to judicial proceedings. — 
Scdvitiam. "The brutal conduct." — Permulsisset. "He had tried to 
soothe." — Liberi doloris. " Of manly repugnance to injustice." — Liber here 
corresponds exactly to the Greek eTiev&eptog, " independent," " manly," 
&c. Compare Ruperti : " Libere dicens, quas suadebat dolor, qucsque sentiebat 
et improbabat, nihil timens odium et iras potentum" 

Aut ille abstitit. "Or did he desist." — Civile. "Not at variance with 
civil equality." — Occursante. " Thronging to meet him." — Deferri. " To 
be paid." — Inglorius. "Lost any renown." — Virgines Vestales. Even the 
Vestal virgins were compelled by ancient usage to give testimony openlv 
in the courts of justice. 

Chap. XXXV. — Res prolatas. " The adjournment of city business." 
Below, the phrase res dilatcB is employed. The former is the official phra 



*K. II., CH. XXXVI.] ANNALS. 321 

seology for the adjournment of city business, when the sittings of the senate 
and of the courts are prorogued. Compare Plautus, Capt., i., 1, 10 : " Ub% 
res prolate sunt, cum rus homines eunt." Here, as appears from the words 
of Asinius Gallus, the adjournment occurred at a time which had been ap- 
pointed for the dispatch of the public and private business of the inhabitants 
of the Italic tcwns and provincials before the senate and the courts. — Pretium 
foret. Compare i., 57. — Abfuturum se dixerat. He played the game spoken 
of in i., 47. — Ob id magis agendum. " That they should attend to business 
the more on that very account." — Sua munia sustinere. " To discharge their 
functions." The Equites are mentioned in this connection, because part of 
the judges were taken out of the equestrian order. 

Quia speciem, &c. As Piso had anticipated him in his display of liberal 
principles, he now turns flatterer. — Affluentes provincias. The influx of af- 
fairs from the provinces. — Audiente 7tcec Tiberio, &c. Observe that hcec is 
here the nominative to acta (sunt). Compare note on expugnandi hostes spe, 
&c, i., 67. — Acta. " Were debated." Literally, ''were managed." 

Chap. XXXVI. — In quinquennium, &c. Consequently, if the law weie 
passed, the magistrates requisite for the next five years would be chosen all 
at once ; in the next year after this election, those for the fifth year, and so 
on, constantly in the succeeding years ; that is, in the year 1, those for years 
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, all at once ; in year 2, those for year 7 ; in 3, for 8 ; and so on 
perpetually. — Jam turn. That is, on their becoming legati legionum. The 
words qui .... fungebantur are added because others became legati legionum 
after the praetorship. — Princeps duodecimo &c. The ground for this proposal 
was, that the legati legionum were nominated by the emperor, but the prae- 
tors were chosen by the senate. Now, in order that none of those whom 
the emperor chose to appoint as legati legionum, and whom he meant to raise 
to the praetorship at a later period, should be excluded from it after five 
years by the senate's not electing him, it was to be ruled that the emperor 
should nominate only so many candidates as there must be praetors appoint- 
ed, so that the senate should be able to elect only those whom he nomina- 
ted, and the emperor, without coming into collision with the senate's free- 
dom of election, to nominate as legati legionum, up to the number of twelve, 
whomsoever he had a mind to appoint to that office. 

Arcana imperii tentari. " That the secret resources of imperial power 
were invaded." Because the emperor thus became bound for five years, in 
the course of which many things might happen that would make other per- 
sons desirable for him, and because those elected five years in advance 
would thereby obtain a more independent position. — Quasi augeretur, &c. 
So it might seem, inasmuch as, according to that law, there would be mag- 
istrates chosen under his influence even after his death, for the praetors of 
four successive years would take office as his posthumous nominees ; and 
he was to appoint all, whereas hitherto he had appointed only four. — Tot 
eligere, tot differre. These words refer to the first election, in which, ba« 

02 



322 NOTES ON THE [bK. II., CH. XXXVII., XXXVIII. 

sides other officers, he would have had to single out sixty candidates fot the 
praetorship alone. 

Propinqua spes. The hope of success on a speedily recurring occasion 
Quce cuique, &c. That is, whether they would continue to have the same 
sentiments, the same connections, and fortune. — Annua designations. 
Strictly speaking, it did not last so long, as the elections did not precede 
the actual entering upon office by a full year. — Honorem per quinquennium 
agitent. " They play the man of office for the space of five years." The 
actual bearing of office would be expressed by gerant. 

Chap. XXXVII. — Favorabili in speciem, &c. " By this speech, m ap- 
pearance popular, he kept the imperial power free from encroachment." 
Favorabili for graiiosa is the Latinity of the silver age.—Superbius. " Some- 
what superciliously." — Liberalitate decies sestertii. " By a gratuity of a 
million of sesterces." This was the census of a senator. The true reading 
nere is sestertii, not sestertium. As regards this peculiar form of expression, 
consult Zumpt, $ 873. — Loco sentential. " In place of expressing his opinion 
on the subject under debate." — Imaginem. The senate was held in the 
Bibliotheca Latina of the Palatium, where on round shields were the effigies 
of men distinguished in literature. Compare chap. Ixxxiii., and Suet., 
Aug., 29. 

Accipere. Because his grandfather was very rich. His father, also a 
Q. Hortensius, in his youth a loose liver, at first a Caesarian, afterward 
joined Brutus and Cassius, lost his property in consequence, and was put 
to 'death after the battle of Philippi. (Veil., ii., 71 ; Plut., Brut., 28.) A 
different grandson of the orator Hortensius was the Hortensius Corbio men- 
tioned, on account of his excesses, in Valerius Maximus, iii., 5, 4. — Tot 
consulum, tot dictatorum. Of Hortensii are found only a consul, 69 B.C., 
the famous orator; a consul designatus for 108 B.C.; and a dictator 286 
B.C., Q. Hortensius. But the distinguished families into which the Hor- 
tensii married are reckoned in. 

Chap. XXXVIII. — lnclinatio senatus, &c. Malevolent and haughty na- 
tures are wont to do just the opposite of what is wished, in order to mar 
others' pleasure, and to let it be felt that their resolutions are independent 
of all influence. — Quantum pauperum est. " All that are poor." — Res pub- 
lica. " The public resources." — Egredi aliquando relationem. " To depart 
occasionally from the question." — Ut privata negotia, &c. " That we may 
here advance our private affairs, augment our private resources." Observe 
the zeugma in augeamus. — Invidia. "Odium." — Istuc. The older style 
would have required the attraction ista. Consult notes on i., 49. 

Ambitione. " By largesses." — Compellatus. " Having been solicited so 
to do." — Lege. " Condition." — Si nullus ex se metus aut spes. " If there be 
no self-respect nor self-reliance." More literally, "no fear or hope from 
one's self," i. e., if men are to have no fear of disgrace from their own socor 
<iia, no hope of success from their own industria. Observe the employment 



8K. II., CH. XXXIX., XL.] ANNALS. 323 

of se, though no person has been named, equivalent to our " one's self."— 
Ducena s*stertia. M Two hundred thousand sesterces." 

Chap. XXXIX. — Ni mature subventumforet. " Had not speedy aid been 
rendered." — Postumi Agrippce, &c. Compare i., 6. — Non servili animo. 
"With no servile spirit," i. e., with a spirit that rose far above the condition 
of a slave. — Palrata cade. Compare i., 6. — Prcecipitia. " Perilous." — Fur- 
atur cineres. That it might not be possible to produce them in proof of the 
death of the true Agrippa. — Cosam, Etruria promontorium. Because the 
city of Cosa was on the promontory, it is somewhat inaccurately here called 
a promontory. The correct name of the promontory was Cosanum Promon 
torium. — In dominum. The local direction of one object toward another 
serves as a mean of comparison between the two, as does the holding one 
thing to another, in reference to which Cicero says {De Inv., i., 44, 82), 
" Similitudine ejus rei, qua de agitur, ad earn rem, qua de judicatum est.'' 1 
The expression in Tacitus is new. 

Imperitissimi cujusque promtas aures. " The greedy ears of all the most 
credulous." — Sed quia Veritas, &c. " But, as truth is strengthened by ob- 
servation and time, pretences by haste and uncertainty, he either left rumor 
behind or else outstripped it." When the rumor of his presence got wind 
in the place where he was, he went to another place ; there he arrived be 
fore the rumor. Aut is used to denote that his whole activity was divided 
between these two kinds of perpetual movement. For, as his presenting 
himself at a place brought the rumor with it, so he nowhere stayed longer 
than was necessary, just to show himself and make himself talked about. 

Chap. XL. — Ostiam. Ostia was at the mouth of the Tiber, and the har- 
bor of Rome, from which it was distant sixteen miles by land. — Celebra- 
bant. " Greeted him." Tacitus does not say expressly that he came to 
Rome ; but it is more natural to understand celebrabant for both clauses in 
the same sense, and the following narrative shows that we must so take it ; 
for they could not possibly have got knowledge of " the unguarded night" so 
long before as to have time to fetch soldiers from Rome to Ostia. — Servum 
vuum. The possessions of Agrippa came, on his banishment, to his adopt- 
ive father, Augustus, in whose patria potestas he was. On the death of 
Augustus they passed by inheritance to Tiberius. — Ambiguus. " Wavering 
between." 

Sallustio Crispo. The same to whom Horace dedicated one of his odes 
(Od., ii., 2). He was the grandson of the sister of the historian, was adopt 
ed by the latter, and inherited his great wealth. Compare i., 6, 6. — Con- 
scientia. "Complicity," i. e., that they were privy to and sharers in the 
conspiracy. — Pericula. "To share his dangers." — Noctem incustoditam . 
11 That the night was unguarded," i. e., that at night he was without guards. 
Supply esse. — Clauso ore. " Gagged." — Quomodo tu Casar. " Just as you 
became Caesar," i. e., by deception and fraud. — Haud qucesitum. "No en« 
quiry w»s mads." 



324 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XLI., XLII, 

Chap. XLI.— Arcus. "A triumphal arch."— JEdem Saturni. On the 
Forum Romanum, before the Capitoline Hill. — Recepta signa. "The re* 
covered standards." Compare i., 60; ii., 25.— Fortis Fortunce. "OfFors 
Fortuna." Fors Fortuna is evidefl ly the same with Fertuna Virilis, which 
last name appears to have originated in a mistake, for the true name of the 
goddess is Fors, not Fortis, Fortuna. Compare Cic, Leg,, ii., 11, 28; 
" Fors Fortuna, in quo incerti casus significantur magis" (Keightley, ad Ovid., 
Fast., vi., 776). — Hortis. The gardens of the dictator Caesar lay on the right 
bank of the Tiber, south from the Janiculum. — Bovillas. Bovillae was a 
town on the Appian Way, not far from Rome. As regards apud here, con- 
sult notes on i., 5. 

CcBcilio. The MS. reading, Cozlio, is wrong. Consult Borghesi, ad loc. 
—Quinque liberis. Nero, Drusus, Caius (Caligula), Agrippina, Drusilla. 
Compare Suet., Cal., 7. — Avunculum ejus Marcellum. Compare L, 3, 10, 
42. — Breves et infaustos, &c. "That the favorites of the Roman people 
were short-lived and unfortunate." 

Chap. XLII. — Amoliri. " To remove out of the way." This verb car- 
ries with it the idea of removing something that is burdensome. Its pe- 
culiarly ambiguous import in the present instance is worthy of notice, and 
shows that Tacitus is preparing us for the sequel of the story. — Archelaus 
Not to be confounded with the ethnarch of Judaea, the son of Herod th. 
Great. — Quinquagesimum annum. This was in A.D. 14, to which Tacitu 
here goes back, as appears from what afterward is stated, " tft . „ ... impe- 
Hum adeptus est." He received his authority B.C. 36, from Antonius. (Dio 
Cass., xlix., 32.) — Rhodi agentem. Compare i., 4. — Florenie C. Casare 
Compare i., 3 ; ii., 4. — Intuta. "Unsafe," i. e., impolitic. 

Versa. More usually eversa. Compare iii., 36, 54; xii., 45.— Ccesarum 
sobole. Referring to C. and L. Caesar. Compare i., 3. — Elicit Arthelaum* 
" He entices Archelaus (from his kingdom)." — Si intelligere crederetur, &c. 
" Dreading violence, in case he should be believed to be aware of it." — Ex- 
ceptusque immiti, &c. "And having been received with sternness by the 
prince." Literally, " by a stern prince." — Angore. " Distress of mind." — 
Nedum infima. " Much less the deepest humiliation." — Regnum inprovin 
ciam, &c. It was decreed to be a province. For the carrying out of this 
decree, consult chap. i. — Fructibusque ejus, &c. " That by its revenues the 
tax of one in the hundred might be lessened, fixed it at one in two hundred 
for the future." That is, he reduced it from one per cent, to a half per cent. 
This was the tax which had been imposed on Rome and all Italy by Au- 
gustus, after the close of the civil wars. It was laid upon all vendible com- 
modities. Compare i., 78. 

Commagenorum. " Of the people of Commagene." Commagene was the 
northeasternmost district of Syria, bounded on the east and southeast by 
the Euphrates. — Cilicum. Philopator is called King of Cilicia, although he 
possessed only a part of this land ; the next was a Roman province. 



BK. II., CH. XLIII.-XLV/J ANNALS. 32* 

Chap. XLIII. — Qucs supra memoravi. Compare chap. iii. — Vergert. 
*Was now on the decline." — Nondum satis adolevisse. "Was not yet 
efficiently matured." — Qui sorte aut missu, &c. Consult notes on i., 74. — 
Creticum Silanum. Compare chap. iv. He had come by adoption from the 
family of the Junii Silar.i into that of the Ccecihi Metelli, and his full name 
was Q. Cacilius Metellus Creticus Silanus. He was consul 4..D. 7. The 
marriage contemplated between Nero and his daughter never took effect. 
Compare iii., 29. — Resurgentes in Africa, &c. After the battle of Pharsalia, 
B.C. 47 and 46. Compare Bell. Afr., iii., 18. — Acerrimo ministerio. "By 
the most active services." — Donee ultro ambiretur, &c. He became consul 
in B.C. 23, with Augustus himself. 

Plancince. Compare i., 39. — Liberos ejus. Drusus and Germanicus. — 
Et Plancinam haud dubie, &c. "Augusta, beyond doubt, had prompted 
Plancina to persecute Agrippina in the spirit of female rivalry." The gen- 
itive of the gerund (insectandi) has here the force of an infinitive. (Bbt 
ticker, Lex. Tac, p. 221.) — Aula. The imperial court at Rome. — Proprium. 
"His own offspring." — Avunculum. "As his great uncle." Avunculus is 
used here for avunculus magnus, as in chap, liii ; iv., 3, 75 ; xii., 64 ; and 
so amita for amita magna above, chap, xxvii. As regards the relationship 
itself, consult notes on i., 42. — Pomponius Atticus. Consult notes on i., 12. 
— Liviam. Compare ii., 84 ; iv., 3, seqq. 

Chap. XLIV. — Illyricum. Compare i., 5,46. — Suesceret. Intransitive. 
The simple verb for the compound, a new usage. Compare chap. Iii. — Stu- 
dia pararet. "Might gain the affections." — Urbano luxu lascivientem. 
" Wantoning amid the dissipation of the city." Compare iii., 37. — Melius 
haberi. " Would be reformed." — Prcetendebantur. " Were alleged as the 
pretence for sending him." The Suevi occupied the entire south of Ger- 
many (to the north of the Danube), and the east from the Elbe. The na- 
tions farther off, to the northeast, seem, however, not to have belonged to the 
kingdom of Maroboduus. — Discessu Romanorum. This and vacui externo 
metu are coupled as two different remarks by ac, because externus metus is 
meant to denote not fear of the Romans only, but of all foreign enemies. 
In what follows, et turn adds to the occasion which was always present, a 
second which was present just then. 

Sed Maroboduum, &c. " Maroboduus, however, the name of king ren 
dered odious among his countrymen ; while favor made Arminius a champion 
for freedom." More literally, " held in hatred," and " (held) as a champion 
for freedom." The meaning intended to be conveyed is as follows : Maro- 
boduus was hated because of his kingly power ; Arminius, on the other 
hand, was in favor, and caused it to be believed that he fought for freedom. 
Tacitus, however, did not believe this, but assumed that on this occasion 
(for here he is speaking only of this war) Arminius had interested motives 
CJompare chap, lxxxviii. 

Chap XLV. — Semnones ac Langoburd ■ East of the Elbe, to the nortl 



320 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XLVI., XLVII, 

ward of Bohem'.a. — Prcepollebat, ni, &c. Consult notes on i., 35. — Juvent 
Compare chap, lxxxviii. — Vagis incursibus. The ablative of the property 
to acies ; and to this, not to the verb, belong, therefore, the other additions 
On disjectas per catervas, compare iii., 55. — Fugacem Maroboduum. Com 
pare Veil. Paterc, ii., 108 : " (Gens Marcomannorum) Maroboduo duce, 
excita sedibus suis, atque in interiora refugiens, incinctos Hercynia silva cara- 
pos incolebat" And again : " Maroboduus . . . statuit, avocata procul a Ro 
manis gente sua, eo progredi, ubi, cum propter potentiora arma refugisset, sua 
faceret potentissima" &c. — HercynicR latebris defensum. The Silva Her 
cynia is the Hartz, and the farther mountain chains, which divide Germany 
from west to east. — Quorum eventu. The issue of the several engagements 
respectively. The next words give the general result of the whole war. 

Chap. XL VI. — Illius consiliis. See, to the contrary, i., 68. — -Vacuas. 
1 Off their guard," i. e., rendered careless, from their apprehending no hos- 
tile attack. Supply metu. Nipperdey renders vacuas " without a master," 
because they were so remote from all communication with the Roman em- 
pire there, in the interior of Germany, that they were in a manner abandon- 
ed. This, however, is extremely forced. — Cum conjux, &c. Compare i. 
57, seqq. — At se, &c. In A.D. 6, Tiberius was on the point of attacking 
Maroboduus at one and the same time from south and west ; but before iv 
came to an action he was obliged to return, in consequence of the insurrec- 
tion of the Pannonians and Dalmatians. To this it is to be referred when 
Arminius, in chap, xlv., calls Maroboduus " prceliorum expertem," for with 
the neighboring Germans he had often been at war. 

Mox conditionibus cequis, &c. Maroboduus, with wise moderation, avail- 
ed himself of the embarrassments of the Romans to bind them to him by 
offering a league.— Cheruscis Langobardisque. As with the former their old 
confederates are to be understood, so with the latter the Semnones. — Spera- 
batur. "Was expected." — Perculsi. " Of his having received a severe 
blow," i. e., having been w r orsted. — Transfugiis. "By successive deser- 
tions." — Marcomannos. The Marcomanni dwelt in Bohemia. — Paris firma- 
tor. He was to confirm the peace, not between the belligerents (for be- 
tween them there was no peace to confirm, and against this is chap. Ixii.) ■ 
but the peace hitherto enjoyed by the Roman provinces in those parts, lest 
perhaps the wars of the Germans among themselves should give rise to hos- 
tilities against the Romans. In this sense it is said also, chap, lxiv., " La- 
hore Tiberio, quia pacem sapientia Jirmaverat" 

Chap. XL VII. — Duodecim. A monument erected in honor of Tiberius 
at Puteoli, in the latter half of A.D. 30 (Orelli, 687), contains the names of 
fourteen cities ; the two not mentioned here by Tacitus be:/ng Cibyra and 
Ephesus. The former w r as first struck by the earthquake :n A.D. 23, and 
was assisted by Tiberius, as Tacitus elsewhere relates (iv., 13). Hence it 
appears that that monument comprises all the cities of Asia Minor which 
had suffered from the earthquakes during the reign of Tiberius, and had re 



BK. II., CH. XLVIII.] ANNALS. 327 

ceived assistance from the errperor, down to A.D. 30 ; and as the account 
relating to Ephesus is no longer extant in Tacitus, this must have come after 
v., 5, and have been lost in the great hiatus there, along with the other 
missing occurrences of the years 29-31 A.D. Hence the earthquake of 
Ephesus would fall in A.D. 29. 

Asperrima in Sardianos lues. " The destructive visitation, most severe 
against the inhabitants of Sardis." This city, the capital of the old Lydian 
monarchy, stood at the foot of Mount Tmolus, on the River Pactolus. — 
Jeniies sestertiuin. " Ten million of sesterces." — Magnetes a Sipylo, &c. 
" The inhabitants of Magnesia (seen) from Sipylus were treated as next in 
damage and in help," i. e., they were considered to have sustained next 
greatest damage, and received accordingly the next greatest help. There 
were two cities named Magnesia in Asia Minor, one situate at the foot of 
the northwestern declivity of Mount Sipylus, in the northwestern part of 
Lydia, and on the southern bank of the Hermus, famous in history as the 
scene of the victory gained by the two Scipios over Antiochus the Great, 
which secured to the Romans the empire of the east, B.C. 190 ; and the 
other in the southwestern part of Lydia, on the River Lethaeus, a northern 
tributary of the Mseander. The former is the one here meant. It was call- 
ed by the Greeks Mayvqaia and ^lttvIov (Spanheim, p. 894), or M. izpbq 
2cttv?uj (Ptol., 5, 2), or M. i] virb UlttuXg). The appellation in the text is 
formed from the first of these, and is well explained by Ritter: "Magnetes 
a Sipylo sunt incolae ejus urbis, quce inde a Sipylo conspicitur." Those who 
came to it from the west would give it this name on beholding it from the 
higher grounds of the mountain ; those, on the other hand, who came to it 
from the east would call it Magnesia on Sipylus, or at the foot of Sipylus. 
Compare Plin., H. i\ r ., v., 29, and Liv., xxxvii., 44. 

Temnios. The people of Temnus, in iEolis, on the western bank of the 
Hermus. — Philadelphenos. The inhabitants of Philadelphia, in Lydia, at 
the foot of Mount Tmolus, twenty-eight Roman miles southeast of Sardis. 
— JEgeatas. The people of iEgseae, to the north of Smyrna, on the River 
Hyllus. — Apollonidenses. The inhabitants of Apoilonis, a city of Lydia, be- 
tween Pergamus and Sardis. — Hieroccesaream. In Lydia, between the Cai- 
cus and Hermus. Diana Persica was worshipped here. — Myrinam. Myri- 
na was on the western coast of Mysia. — Cymen. Cyme was the largest of 
the JEolian cities of Asia Minor, on the coast of the Sinus Cumaeus. — Tmo- 
lum. The town of Tmolus (of which Herodotus, i., 84, also makes mention) 
was situate near the mountain of the same name. — Qui prazsentia spectaret f 
&c. "To view their present condition and impart new life." — Aletius. 
The MS. has Aletus, which is not a Roman name (Borghesi, ad loc). 

Chap. XLVIII. — Bona .... petita injiscum. Because it was maintain- 
ed that none had a right to claim the inheritance. All property for which 
there was no owner fell to the Jiscus, or imperial privy purse. — JEmilio Lep- 
ido. ■ With the pramomen Marcus. The supposition that ^Emilia Musa 
oelonged to his house probably rested only on the name. — M. Servilio. M 



328 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. XL1X.-L1. 

Servilius, consul A.D. 3, is mentioned also in iii., 22. — Neque suspeciis. 
" And well authenticated." — Aliis. V/hom they ought properly to have in* 
serted, or who would have been their heirs had they died intestate. — Appi- 
um Appianum. The cognomen, if correct, would be the most ancient ex- 
ample of the occurrence of the praenomen Appius as a nomen gentile, which 
it presupposes. — Q. Vitellium. An uncle of the afterward Emperor Vitel- 
lius. 

Chap. XLIX. — Circum maximum. Between the Aventine and the Pala- 
tine. A. Postumius had vowed the temple before the battle at the Lake 
Regillus, B.C. 496. It was completed in 493 {Dion. Hal, vi., 17, 94).— 
Forum olitorium. Outside the city, between the Capitoline and the river. 
In the same locality was also the temple of Spes (Liv., xxi., 62, 4). To the 
temple of Janus Tacitus adds the place, for distinction' sake from Numa's 
temple of Janus, in the Forum Romanum. — Qui primus, &c. The naval vic- 
tory of Duillius was gained B.C. 260. — A Germanico. Some editors read 
Germanico merely, the dative, instead of the ablative with the preposition a. 
— Atilius. A. Atilius Calatinus, consul in B.C. 258 and 254. 

Chap. L. — Adolescebat. " Was growing in strength." — Apuleiam Varil- 
lam. The MS. has Variliam, but, as Borghesi remarks, it is not likely in 
her case that she had two gentile names. She was probably the daughter 
of Claudia Pulchra (iv., 52), daughter of Claudius Marcelius and Octavia, 
sister of Augustus. This Claudia Pulchra and her elder sister, married to 
M. Agrippa and Antonius lulus, are both called Marcella by Suetonius 
(Aug., 63). Claudia Pulchra (Marcella the younger) seems to have been 
first married to Sextus Apuleius, and from this marriage sprang the Sextus 
Apuleius, consul of the year 14 A.D., whom Dio Cassius (lvi., 29) calls a 
relation of Augustus, and the Apuleia here mentioned. Then Claudia Pul- 
chra was married to Quintilius Varus (iv., 66), and from him, as her step- 
father, Apuleia would seem to have taken the cognomen Varilla. 

Illusisset. The subjunctive, as indicating what was alleged against hei. 
— Ccssari connexa. " Though nearly allied to the emperor." — De adulterio, 
&c. The accuser had designated her adultery as leze majesty, because 
she was related to the emperor. Tiberius, however, would have this trans 
gression to be dealt with according to the general laws concerning adultery. 
— Lege Julia. By the Lex Julia de Adulteriis coercendis (passed probably 
B.C. 17), a woman convicted of this offence was mulcted in half of her dos, 
and the third part of her property (bona), and banished (relegata) to soma 
miserable island, such as Seriphus, for instance. — Secus. "Unbecoming- 
ly." Equivalent to aliter quam decuit. — Earn. Livia. — Exemplo majorum. 
These words refer merely to the circumstance of the execution of the sen- 
tence passed by the senate being transferred to the relations of the culprit. 
Compare Liv., xxxix., 18, 6. 

Chap. LI. — Etiam turn Romce erant. Compare chapters xliv. and liii. — 



BK. II,, CHAP. LII., LIII.] ANNALS. 3^9 

Haterium Agrippam. Compare i., 77. His father was probably the oratoi 
Q. Haterius (iv., 61). His relationship to Germanicus seems to explain 
itself by the cognomen ; for probably he was related on the mother's side to 
M. Agrippa, father of Germanicus's wife. — Numerus liberorum, &c. The 
law meant here is the Lex Papia Poppcea de maritandis ordinibus. It pro- 
vided that in the canvassing for offices, and the allotment of the senatorial 
provinces, the fathers of the greater number of children should have the 
preference. It also remitted to fathers of families a portion of the time 
m hich was otherwise require3 to elapse between the different offices ; and 
Mhere there was a certain number of children (probably three), allowed a 
longer tenure than the usual term of one year for the senatorial provinces. 
(Dio Cass., liii., 13.) — Quomodo. "In the same manner as." 

Chap. LII. — Auxiharia stipendia meritus. " Having served among the 
auxiliaries." — Per vexilla et turmas. "Into companies of foot and troops 
of horse." Literally, " by means of standards and troops." — Mauros accolas. 
"The neighboring Mauri." Not the collective inhabitants of the kingdom 
of Mauritania, but that portion merely which dwelt near them. — Suesceret. 
The simple verb, as before (chap, xliv.), for the compound, but here in a 
transitive sense. — Cinithios. Below the Lesser Syrtis. — In eadem. " Into 
the same measures." — Furius Camillus. Consul 8 A.D. ; father of Camillus 
Scribonianus (vi., 1). Compare iii., 21. — Quod sub signis sociorum. " What 
forces of the allies were under arms." Opposed to those whom he might 
have been able to convoke. — Ne bellum metu eluderent. That is, lest the 
enemy, from fear of the overpowering numbers of the Romans, should not 
let it come to a pitched battle. 

Furio nomini. " For the Furian name." The entire gens Furia is meant. 
— Filiumque ejus Camillum. Probably Tacitus took the L. Furius Camil- 
lus, consul 349 B.C., and the consul of the same name in 338 and 325 B.C., 
for one and the same person ; whereas, according to other accounts, the 
latter was a grandson of the famous M. Furius Camillus. (Liv., vii., 24, 
28; viii., 13, 29.) Tacitus designedly adds Camillum; for he means here 
not the entire gens Furia (as above in Furio nomini), but of that gens only, 
the family of the Camilli. Of the gens Furia there also distinguished them 
selves as commanders P. Furius Philus and L. Furius Purpureo, who tri- 
umphed, the former in 223, the latter in 200 B.C. — Impune fuit. " Was not 
attended with any danger." 

Chap. LIII. — Sequens annus. A.D. 18. — Nicopolim. Nicopolis was sit- 
uated at the southwestern extremity of Epirus, on the point of land which 
forms the northern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Ambracia, oppo- 
site Actium. It was built by Augustus in memory of the battle of Actium. 
The same monarch built a temple of Apollo on a neighboring hill, and found- 
ed games in honor of the god, which were celebrated every fifth year. — 
t Druso. Compare chap. xliv. — Ionii maris. The Ionian Sea lay to the south 
of the Adriatic and began, on the west, at Hydruntum, in Calabria ; and on 



330 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CK. LIV., LV 

the east at the i.croceraunian promontory, in Epirus.— Ut memoravi. Com- 
pare chap, xliii. — Ut uno lictore uteretur. As being among friends, where 
no imposing display of authority was needed. — Vetera suorum facta, &c. 
" Employing for display the ancient doings and sayings of their country- 
men." As a pattern for their reception of Germanicus, they took what their 
own forefathers had done and spoken on similar occasions. Pr&ferre, prop- 
erly, " to bear before one's self," i. c, for display. 

Chap. LIV. — Juliam. Suetonius (Cal., 7) calls her Livilla. She was 
married to M. Vinicius in 33 A.D., and was banished in 37 by her brother, 
Caligula. She was recalled by Claudius, but was afterward put to death 
by that emperor at Messalina's instigation. The charge brought against her 
was adultery, and Seneca, the philosopher, was banished to Corsica as the 
partner of her guilt. — Perinthum. Perinthus, now Erekli, was an important 
city of Thrace, on the Propontis. — Propontidis angustias. The Thracian 
Bosporus. 

Sacra Samothracum. The island of Samothrace lay in the northern part 
of the iEgean Sea, opposite the mouth of the Hehrus, in Thrace, from which 
it was thirty-eight miles distant. It was the chief seat of the worship of the 
Cabiri, and was celebrated for its religious mysteries, called in the text 
sacra. — Ilio. Troy was twice rebuilt. First by the iEoiian colonists., but 
much lower down the plain than the old site. This is the Troja or Ilium 
Vetus of most of the ancient writers, and was the city visited by Alexander. 
After the time of Alexander it declined, and a new city was built, still 
farther down the plain, below the confluence of the Simoi's and Scamander, 
and near the Hellespont. This is the Ilium Novum, known to, and honored 
with various immunities by the Romans. This last is the one meant in the 
text. — Relegit Asiam. " He sails again along the coast of Asia." 

Colophona. Colophon was one of the twelve cities of Ionia, and stood 
about two miles from the coast, on the River Halesus, between Lebedus 
and Ephesus. — Clarii Apollinis oraculo. The temple and oracle were at 
Claros, a small town on the Ionian coast, near Colophon. — Mileto. Mi- 
letus, one of the greatest cities of Asia Minor, was the southernmost of 
the twelve cities of the Ionian confederacy, and was famed for its com 
merce and numerous colonies.: — Literarum. " Letters (of the alphabet),' 
"writing." — Per ambages. "In enigmatical terms." — Maturum exitium 
" An early death." 

Chap. LV. — Quo properantias, &c. " That he might enter the soonei 
upon the execution of his purposes." — Turbido incessu. "By his boister 
ous entrance." — Perstringens. "Censuring." — Colluviem illam nationum. 
"That impure conflux of various nations." The thinning of the numbers 
of the ancient citizens, mentioned just before, had rendered'^hecessary the 
admission of numerous foreigners. Besides, the Athenians had been in the 
habit of selling the freedom of the city for money. " (Compare Demosth., * 
vceoi GbVTuB., 23, seqq. ; Dio Cass., liv., 7.) — Coluisset. " He had treated.' 



BR. if., CH. LVI.] ANNALS. 331 

As alleged by Piso, and therefore the subjunctive. — Mithradatis. In the 
first Mithradatic war, 87-6 B.C. — Antonii. In the battle of Actium, 31 B.C. 
Propria ira. " From personal resentment." — Areo judicio falsi damna- 
tion. " Condemned by the Areopagus for forgery." — Cycladas. The Cy- 
^lades, a group of islands in the JEgeoji Sea, and so called because they lay 
in a circle (kv kvkTlcj) around Delos. — Et compendia maris. "And by a 
short course." Literally, "by short cuts over the sea." — Quibus insectati- 
onibus, &c. "With what bitter hostilities he was assailed." — Raperet in 
abrupta. This refers only to Piso, the person afterward designated by the 
term inimici being understood even here, after the analogy of the ordinary 
construction, when after several verbs connected by a copula, and all gov 
erning the same case, such a case follows, which is to be understood with 
all. 

Severos. " Distinguished for strict discipline." — Vagum ac lascivientem. 
"To range at large and commit every kind of excess." — Vulgi. "Of the 
common men." — Decursibus. "The manoeuvres." As these were con- 
nected with more or less of rapid movement on foot, the term decursxis 
has a peculiar significance. 

Chap. LVI. — Sed praverti ad Armenios, &c. " But it was a more im 
mediate object of solicitude (with him) to direct his steps first to the Ar- 
menians." Observe the middle force of prceverti. — Ambigua gens, &c. 
'This nation has been an inconstant one from of old." — Late prcetenta. 
" Stretched far in front of," f. e., bordering with a large frontier upon. — 
Maximis imperils. This belongs also to discordes. The Roman and Par 
thian empires are meant. — Discordes. "At variance with." — Invidia. 
M Jealousy." — Amoto Vonone. Compare chap. 4. — Polemonis, regis Pontici 
Polemo is called King of Pontus in just the same way as (chap, xlii.) Phil- 
opator, king of Cilicia. He was no longer living*; his domain was under 
the government of his and Archelaus's widow, Pythodoris. 

Artaxata. The singular is used by Tacitus only in this connection with 
the ablative of urbs here and in vi., 33. Otherwise*he has always treated 
the word as a neuter plural. Artaxata, the later capital of Armenia, was 
built by Artaxias, under the advice of Hannibal, on a peninsula surrounded 
by the River Araxes. — Approbantibus nobilibus. Of the nobles, who, in this 
despotically governed land, were alone of any account, it is expressly men- 
tioned that they gave their approval : of the people it is only said that they 
flocked round in multitudes, in token of their joy. 

In formam provincial redacti. Compare chap. xlii. — Q. Veranium. Vera 
nius and Servaeus were legati of Germanicus. They were set over the 
countries named only for the purpose of carrying out the new arrangements ; 
this done, they returned to Germanicus. Cappadocia received a procurator 
of equestrian rank, as were all procurators. Commagene was thrown into 
Syria. What was done with the possessions of Philopator (chap, xlii.) 
Tacitus does not say, probably because they were left to his house, and 
not taken into the province (Borghesi, ad loc). — Ad jus pr&toHs translatis. 



332 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. LVII.-LIX. 

They came under a propraetor, the legatus pro prcetore of Syria ; for the pro 
praetor had jus prcetoris. Compare i. 10; ii., 77; iv., 15 

Chap. LVIL— Filium. M. Piso. Compare chapters 76, 78; iii., 16, 18. 
— Cyrri. Cyrrus or Cyrrhus was a city of Syria, founded under the Seleu- 
cidae, and called after the city of the same name in Macedonia. It was the 
capital of the district Cyrrestice. — XJt retuli. Compare i., 33. — Clementior. 
" Of more than ordinary clemency." — Intendere vera, &c. " Aggravated real 
offences, kept heaping up fictitious ones." — Filios. There was only one 
son present (iii., 16). The other, therefore, they accused of intriguing at 
Rome against Germanicus.i-Prec/&ws contumacibus. Compare the expla- 
nation of Lipsius : " Petebat quidem, ne ea qua reipubliccs causa et ex insti- 
tuto egisset, in suam contumeliam verteret ; simul demonstrabat, si tamen id 
faceret atque indignaretur, se id susque deque ferre, et Tiberio soli rationem 
actorum reddendam." 

Atrox ac dissentire manifestus. "He was gloomy of look, and showed 
clearly that he dissented." On the construction of manifestus with the in 
finitive in place of the genitive, consult Botticher, Lex. Tac, p. 265. — Na 
batceorum. An Arabian people, in the northwestern part of the peninsula 
originally ; but in Roman times occupying nearly the whole of Arabia Pe 
traea, along the northeastern coast of the Red Sea, on both sides of the 
iElanitic Gulf, and in the Idumaean Mountains, where they had their cele 
brated rock-hewn capital, Petra. — Parthi. The object of Piso's speech was 
to censure the luxury and extravagance of the banquet, as more suited to 
Parthian than to Roman habits. Parthi here expresses more than Parthic- 
or Parthorum, denoting that he was by descent a Parthian. 

Chap. LVIII. — Amicitiam ac fcedus. Which Phraates had established 
with Augustus. Compare chap. i. — Accederet. Namely, the king. Com- 
pare what follows soon after : " De adventu regis et cultu sui." — Ne-u trakeret. 
" And not to let him (Vonones) draw," &c. In Latin, it is common to en- 
treat a person that something may be done or not done, when it is in his 
power to effect it, or to hinder it, where we would use a verb with the in- 
finitive denoting the activity of the person entreated as "iet," or the like. 
— Decore. " Grace." Ablative of decor. — Pompeiopolim. Pompeiopolis s 
originally Soli or Soloe, was a city on the coast of Cilicia, between the La 
mus and Cydnus. Pompey restored the place after his war with the pirates, 
and peopled it with the survivors of the defeated bands ; and from this time 
forth it was called Pompeiopolis. — Contumelies Pisonis. That is, it was 
meant also as a rebuff to Piso. 

Chap. LIX. — M. Silano^c. A.D. 19. — JEgyptum. Consult notes on 
chap. lxix. — CognoscendcB antiquitatis. The genitive expresses the purpose 
of the action. Strictly speaking, it is joined to the verb as to a substantive, 
to denote the nature of the action, what it consists of. The construction is 
borrowed from the Greek, and as it is there found only with the infinitive, 



BK. II., CH. LX.J ANNALS. 333 

so in Latin it occurs only with the gerund and gerundive. We find it in 
the Latin of the older writers, as in Terence, Ad., ii., 4, 6 ; not in the Cic- 
eronian age (except perhaps in B. G., iv., 17, 10) ; but very frequently in 
Tacitus. — P. Scipionis cemulatione The eldci Africanus. Livy (xxix., 19, 
11) says that he walked about cum pallio crepidisque. This explains what 
is meant by pedibus intectis, not strictly bare, but wearing merely the crepida, 
or slipper. Slippers were worn with the pallium, or Greek cloak, not with 
the toga. — Quamvis flagrante adhuc, &c. Implying that he ought to have 
dressed, like a Roman commander, in the attire of his country. 

Sponte. With a genitive, occurs first in Lucan, e. g., i., 99: " Paxque 
fuit non sponte ducum ;" 234, " Sponte deum." In Tacitus, besides the 
present instance we find it in iv., 7, 51 ; vi., 31 ; xii., 24 ; xiii., 39, 42 ; 
Hist., iv., 19. — Equitibus Romanis illustribus. So were called those Roman 
knights who possessed the senatorial fortune of a million of sesterces ; and 
therefore were competent to become senators. Like the senators and their 
children, they wore the latus clavus, or broad purple border. — SeposuitJEgyp 
turn. " Placed Egypt aside by itself." — Claustra terra ac maris. Compare 
Hirt., Bell. Alex., 26: " Tota jEgyptus maritimo accessu Pharo, pedestri Pe 
lusio, velut claustris, munita existimatur." 

Chap. LX. — Oppido a Canopo. The collocation of the preposition be 
tween two words connected by apposition is an innovation upon the ancient 
style. Compare iv., 43, " Montem apud Erycum ;" xiii., 12, u Uxore ab Oc~ 
tavia," &c. — Canopo. The city of Canopus was near the westernmost 
mouth of the Nile, hence called the Canopic mouth, and was twelve geo^ 
graphical miles to the east of Alexandrea. It had a great temple of Serapis, 
and a considerable commerce. The story of its Spartan origin is of course 
a fable. The Egyptian name was Kahi-n-nub, i. e., " golden ground." — Qua 
tempestate. " What time." The same form of expression occurs iii., 38 ■ 
iv., 14; vi., 34; xii., 62; Hist., v., 2. — Menelaus. According to the Greek 
legend, Menelaus was eight years wandering about the shores of the Medi- 
terranean, on his return from Troy, before he reached home. — Diversum ad 
mare. A different part of the Mediterranean is merely meant. — Dejectus 
Supply est. 'Nipperdey inserts this in the text. 

Proximum amnis os. Observe that os depends on visit, toward the end 
of the sentence. The mouth here meant is the Canopic, which was some- 
times also called the Heracleotic, from the adjacent city of Heracleon. — 
Quern indigenes ortum apud se, &c. Compare Wilkinson, vol. ii. (second se- 
ries), p. 17, seqq. — Cognomentum. Consult notes on i., 31.- — Veterum The- 
barum. Egyptian Thebes stood about the centre of tbe Thebaid, on both 
banks of the Nile, above Coptos, in the Nomos Coptites. — Structis molibus. 
" On vast erections." Commentators generally suppose that obelisks are 
here meant. It is more probable, however, that Tacitus refers to the walls 
pf some of the stupendous structures at Thebes. 

Rhamsen. By Rhamses is here meant the Sesostris of the Greeks, or 
R,arne-«t£g II. of Egypt. Compare Wilkinson, i., p. 69, seqq. — Legebantur el 



334 NOTES ON THE [bK. II., CH LXI.-LXIil. 

indicta, &c. Kenrick thinks that Tacitus here refers to what is now termed 
the statistical table of Kamak, belonging to the reign of Thothmes III., the 
Pharaoh of the Exodus, and that the words of the Roman historian do not 
necessarily imply that the record of the victories of Rhamses, and the t^Me 
of tribute mentioned immediately after, related to the same sovereign (Km- 
~ick?s Anc. Egypt, vol. ii., p. 228, Lond. ed.). — Utensilium. Consult notes 
3n i., 70. 

Chap. LXI. — Memnonis saxea effigies. The Memnon of the Greeks and 
Romans was the Amenophis III. of the Egyptians. — Vocalem sonum. The 
sound it uttered was said to resemble the breaking of a harp-string, or, ac- 
cording to the preferable authority of a witness, brass when struck, that is, a 
metallic ring. Wilkinson appears to have given the best explanation of the 
matter. Consult Author? s Class. Diet., s. v. Memnonium. — Disjectas. Be- 
cause, being raised from their natural level surface by the force of the winds, 
they are in different places heaped up in large masses. — Lacus. Mceris — 
Angustias et profunda altitudo. In the southern part oT Egypt, where the 
river is enclosed by a narrow rocky valley (angustice). — Nullis inquirendum 
spatiis, &c. " Fathomable by no measures on the part of those seeking to 
ascertain it." The spatia inquirendum are the additional lengths of the 
fathoming line, which the enquirers were obliged to use, yet without find- 
ing any bottom. 

Elephantinen. Elephantine or Elephantis was an island in the Nile, 
with a city of the same name, opposite to Syene, and seven stadia below the 
Little Cataract. — Syenen. Syene was situate on the eastern bank of the 
Nile, just below the Little Cataract, like Elephantine. — Claustra olim, &c. 
As the remotest point from Rome. By rubrum mare, which may denote 
either the Arabian or the Persian Gulf, the latter is here meant, as undej 
Trajan (about 115 A.D.) the eastern frontier of the Roman empire was ad 
vanced to the northern part of that gulf. 

Chap. LXII. — Drusus. Compare chapters xliv.-xlvi. — Utquefracto jam, 
&c. " And (by inducing them), now that the power of Maroboduus was 
broken, to persevere even unto his utter ruin." — Gotones. On the northern 
part of the Vistula, not to be confounded with the Gothini. Compare Germ., 
xliii. — Regiam. Strabo (vii., p. 290) calls the place Bovigu/llov, Ptolemy 
Map6j3ov6ov, supposed to answer to the modern Budweis. Compare " Boio- 
hemum," Germ., xxviii. — Jus commercii. In consequence of the alliance men- 
tioned in chap. xlv. — Hostilem agrum. Tacitus calls the land so, in respeev. 
of the manner in which, notwithstanding the treaty, the Romans actually 
regarded it. 

Chap. LX1II. — Noricam Provinciam. Noricum lay between Raetia and 
Pannonia, the Inn and the Mur. It corresponded to the greater part o) 
Styria and Carinthia, and a part of Austria, Bavaria, and Salzburg. — PrcB 
Suit. For pr alter jluit. — Ex memoria prioris fortunes. "From the recoll*c 



BK. II., CII. LXIV.-LXVII.J ANNALS. 335 

tion of his former fortune," i. e., as the recollection of his former loitune 
prompted him ; that is, in a spirit suitable to his former .fortune. — Fide qua 
venisset. The more usual form of expression would be, eademf.de qua ve- 
nisset. Compare chap, lxxviii. " Curam exercitus eadem fide qua tenueril 
repetivisse." 

Violentiam. "The fierceness." — Extulit. "He magnified." — Ravenna. 
Compare i., 58. — Insolescerent. " Began to grow turbulent." — Hermundu 
rorum. North from the Danube, in Bavaria and Thuringia. — Forum Julium. 
Now Frejus. — Barbari utrumque comitati. "The barbarians who had fol 
lowed each," i. e., the barbarian followers of each. — Marum et Cusum. 
The Marus is now the March; the Cusus, probably the Waag. — Quado- 
um. The Quadi were a powerful German people of Suevic race, in the 
ioutheastern part of the country, between Mount Gabreta, the Hercynian 
forest, the Sarmatian Mountains, and the Danube. 

Chap. LXIV. — Simul nuntiato, &c. As the appointment of Artaxias had 
already taken place at the end of the preceding year (compare chapters lvi. 
and lvii.), it appears that the affair of Maroboduus must have occurred quite 
early in this year, and only to this can simul here refer. The other matters 
related in chap, lxiii. fell later in the course of the year, and are added only 
for the purpose of completing this part of the history. — Martis Ultoris 
This temple was built by Augustus in his own forum, between the Quirina 
and the Capitol, in fulfillment of a vow for vengeance on the murderers oi 
Julius Caesar. In it were placed the standards delivered up by the Parthi 
ans. — Casarum. " Of these two Caesars." — Bellum. " A war." — Illi mil 
et amcenum. To Cotys Ovid addressed the 9th Epistle of his second boo> 
"Ex Ponto," whence it appears that he was a poet. — Societatis. " Oi 
having a partner in power." — Subdola concordia egere. "They lived it 
hollow friendship." — Causas bello. Consult notes on i., 27. 

Chap. LXV. — Facilitate. " From a yielding temper." — Cuncta concede- 
rent acciperentque. " Yielded and accepted every proposition." — Sanciendo 
fcederi. " To give solemnity to the league." — Sacra regni. " The religion 
of the kingdom," i. e., all that their land held in the highest reverence. 
Then follows in particular "the gods (penates) of the royal line." — Baster 
nas Scythasque. North of the Danube, to which his kingdom extended 
along the Black Sea, east of Mcesia. In later times Mcesia extended to the 
Black Sea (Plin., H. iV., iii., 26, 149). The usual form of the name is Bas 
tarnce. — Transferret invidiam criminis. Namely, to Cotys, as it was natural 
that so long as he hung back from trial, he was regarded as guilty. 

Chaps. LXVI. and LXVII. — Pandus. Nipperdey, following an inscrip 
tion,^vrites the name Pandusa. This individual had succeeded in Moesia 
to Poppaeus Sabinus, who, according to i., 80, at the end of A.D. 15, had 
been continued for a longer term in the propraetorship of that province, with 
ichaia and Macedonia annexed. Achaia and Macedonia Sabinus c< /itin- 



336 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. LXVIII.-LXXi 

lied to hold until his death, 35 A.D. — Placitas semel artes. " The artfu. 
course he had once adopted." Literally, "which had once pleased him.'' 
— Pomponium Flaccum. He had already held a command in Moesia, before 
his consulship. 

Prcesidia Romania. " The Roman lines." — Traxere. " Drew him," j. e.. 
induced him to come. — Uxore Cotyis. She was the daughter of Pythodo- 
ris, with regard to which latter female, consult notes on chapter lvi. — In, 
Rhcemetalcen. As respects this form of expression, consult notes on i., 55 
— Trebellienus Rufus. Compare iii., 38; vi., 39. Perhaps he is the same 
with the person mentioned in an inscription Ap. Mur., 850, 10. (Borghesi, 
ad loc). — Ptolem&i. Ptolemy Epiphanes, who died 181 B.C. M. ^Emilius 
Lepidus was Pontifex Maximus, and twice consul, 187 and 175 B.C. 

Chaps. LXVIII. and LXIX.— Memoravi. Compare chap, lviii. — Alba* 
nos. The Albani dwelt in the Caucasus, on the Caspian Sea. In the same 
mountains, farther west, were the Heniochi ; and thence, to the north, the 
Scythians. — Et consanguineum, &c. Supply ad from the first clause. — Py- 
ramum. The Pyramus, a large, deep, and rapid river of Asia Minor, rises 
in the Anti-Taurus range, and flows through Cilicia. It is now the Jihon. 
— Appositus. As commander. — Conscientia sceleris. Namely, his having 
aided him to escape. 

JEgypto. Tacitus, in the case of this and other names of countries and 
people, follows the usage of the poets, who employ the ablative in answer to 
the question "whence," without a preposition. — Contumelies. "Affronts," 
i. e., setting things to rights again, with attendant circumstances deeply in- 
sulting to Piso.— Abire Syria. The employment of abire with the bare ab- 
lative is new. — Antiochensium. Antiochia was the capital city of Syria, on 
the River Orontes, not far from its mouth. It was in a suburb of this, 
Epidaphne, that Germanicus now lay. Compare chap, lxxxiii. — Seleuciam. 
Seleucia Pieria, near Antioch, on the sea-coast. — Carmina et devotiones. 
"Charms and spells." — Semusti cineres. Ashes of half-burned portions of 
human bodies ; human remains only partially reduced to ashes ; hence tabo 
obliti. — Maleficia. " Instruments of sorcery." — Sacrari. " To be devoted." 
• — Adversa. " The unfavorable symptoms." 

Chap. LXX. — nfantibus liberis. He had with him Julia and Caligula. 
On the birth-year of the former, consult chap. liv. ; on that of the latter, 
notes on i., 40. — Festinare et urgere. Referring to Piso. — Non usque eo de- 
fectum. "Was not sunk so low," i. e. f was not so far gone. — Epistolas. 
"A letter." Consult notes on i., 30. — Quo propius regrederetur. As one 
says prope, procul esse, so these adverbs are put to other verbs in the sense 
of " being in the neighborhood," " being at a distance," &c. Hence we may 
here translate, "in order that, being (thus) nearer, he might remrn." 

Chap. LXXI. — Fesso corpore. "With drooping frame." — Sifato conce- 
lerem. That is, if I were dying in the course of nature. — Parentibus. His 



BK. II.. CH. LXXIf.-LXXY.J ANN 32? 

onia, (iii., 3), and his adoptive father, Tiberius. Even if he 
knew that the latter desired his death, he would nc: 

a surmise, as appears ah :rius in what follows. — 

Intra juventam. Consult notes on chap. lxxiii. — Inierceptus. 
Rflinqwo. "ldeposi:."— Fratri. His ad 

. .:dius, who was weak in understanding, and was held in con- 
tempt (iii., 18), could not be in his thoughts here. — Acerbitaiibus. 

itions." — Spes me<z. Tha: illed to become and to 

achieve. — Mfmliebri fimmde. R ugh he ascribed his death only to 

women (in fact, he has just said m .Vme), but because 

poisoning is an unmanly crime. 

Locus. k< An opportuiiiTy . "' — pr: s>: ga :'. ' ' To ail — Dili 

Aupisti neptem. Consult notes on i., 3. — Sex liber salt notes on 

chapters xli. and liv. — C o the side oiV — Scelesta mandata. Com- 

: nap. xliii. — Amissuros. u That they will forego." 

Chaps. LXXII. and LXXIII. — Ft MO c i m mu "Her unyielding spirit.'" 
Compare L, 33. — ^Emidatwne potenti<£. "By a competition for the mas- 

: be feared.'* — Canutes. •• Ur"r.&L::y."— 
*abilis. "Anobje iinem et gravitatr 

ad iignity ::' the highest elevation/ 9 a. «* of his exalted 
station. — Airogantiam. " The imputation of arrogar. : g . ' ' 

Sine imaginibus et pompa. : family images and display of an* 

kind." — Triginta annos. Germanic us lied in his thirty -fourth, Alexana** 
in his thirty- — S :rum insidiis. " By the machina:::: ? 

own countrymen." — Cartis liberix. " With sfispring undoabtc i. / his ovn» " 
v a chaste wife, so that s :re of his paternity — '- --lanu* 

Consult notes ::. . 57. — Assecntuntm. Supply fuisse. Consult no1 
chap, xxxi. — Sepulture. lten bcxw . Lxxxiii : . '.. 4 

Chaps. LXX^V, jlhb LXXV. — iegmtas. u The cornm :he le 

. r iirihre remarked, had a . 
senatorum.. Because all legati hai held :1. a quaestorship, and there 
wWialMWi Consul] notea m am Marsum. 

Compi: wis , 47. He was consul suffecris 1? A.D. 

mm. Consul safieefns 4 A.D. — Diu qucBsitum. " It was long 
e im" — Tamquam adversus receptos jam reos. The author, in his s ::: : 
impartiality, cens the friends of Germanicus, that, is 

:he proofs which were to bear out their icy took upon them 

.n a way in whi re not authorized to act until the 

was 1 1 i and received. 

IitfoUrans. "Impatient." — Pulcherrimo mode matrimonio, ccc. "Ac- 
customed to be seen, during her late most happy union, among those who 
offered her their homage and congratul at b : i : : aded ft J I b e s e — 

C :•-.--: : -.■:■■„.'. :.~:. C : 'is. c :;.e«rv. is e called C::s. and more cc~~-r.lv (?;.?. was 
one of the isiards sailed S z : a if s . off the ; : -i the moutA 

p 



338 NOTES ON THE [bK. II., CH. LXXVI.-LXX1X. 

of the Ceramic Gulf. It is now Stanco. — Intemperanter. " With extravagant 
joy." — Gaudium. " His delight," which he had shown on receipt of the ti- 
dings. The words neque .... moderans are by no means superfluous ; foi 
though a person, on receipt of any particular tidings, may act extravagantly, 
it does not follow that he may not afterward moderate his behavior. 

Chaps. LXXVI. and LXXVII. — Adfluebant centuriones. Out of Syria, 
from the legions there ; creatures of his own. Compare chap. Iv. — Legionum 
studia. " That the affections of the legions." — Consultants This depends 
on proper andum. — Inania fames. "The idle announcements of common ru- 
mor." — In partibus. " On his side." — Recens. Since the departure of Piso. 
Compare chapters Ixix. and lxx. — Praevaleret. " Would preponderate." 

Contra, &c. "Against this Domitius Celer argued," i. e., against the 
speech of Piso. — Jus praetor is. Consult notes on chapter lvi. — Propria man- 
data. " Special orders," i. e., from the emperor. Piso was not referred 
simply to the orders of Germanicus, but was empowered by the emperor, as 
legatus pro praetore of Syria, to act also on his own responsibility, As Tac- 
itus (chap, xliii., and iii., 16) leaves it uncertain whether Tiberius had act 
ually given Piso orders how to proceed against Germanicus, in these words 
also this is left unexpressed, but the words are purposely so chosen that they 
can also include this. Just so, Tacitus, in making M. Piso and Domitius 
scout the allegation of the poisoning of Germanicus as a merely empty sus- 
picion, does not himself mean to affirm that it was nothing more than that 
He merely regarded it as not proved. The speeches in this place leave th# 
possibility of the poisoning an open question, as the speakers were not nee 
essarily supposed to know any thing about it ; which, at any rate, holds in 
the case of M. Piso ; or they might think good, if thefy did know it, to con- 
ceal their knowledge. 

In melius casura. " Would turn up in his favor." — Appellere. " To land 
(in Italy)." — Rapiant. " May hurry to destruction." — Augustas conscientia. 
Compare chap, xliii. — Nulli. Used substantively in the plural is rare, as 
the singular nemo would express the same thing. 

Chap. LXXVIII. — Promtus ferocious. " Ready for violent measures. "- 
Epistolis. Consult notes on i., 30. — Rebus novis. " For designs against 
the state." — Rcpetivisse. "Had now sought to resume." — Lato mari 
Having sailed past the islands as far as to the southernmost point of Rhode* 
(no great distance), he was to steer right across for Syria, so that the ship 
on both sides would be far from land, while Piso himself kept along thf 
coast of the main-land. Compare chap, lxxix. — Desertores. Of the Syriai 
legions. — Vexillum tironum. Consult notes on i., 17. — Regulis Cilicum 
Consult notes on chap. xlii. 

Chap. LXXIX. — Praelegentes. Piso and his party, with the exceptioi 
of Domitius. — Nuntiavit Pisoni, &c. That is, he summoned Piso to Rome 
there to make his defence against the charge of having poisoned Germani 



BK. II., CH. LXXX., LXXXI.] ANNALS. 339 

eus. — Eludens. "With an air of derision." — Ubi praetor .... pradixisset. 
When the accuser had declared before the presiding judge of the court that 
he wished to accuse any one (nomen deferre), the charge could not at once 
be taken in hand, but a day was appointed {praztor diem praedixii) on which 
the parties had to appear. Cases of assassination, poisoning, and perhaps 
other criminal offences against individuals, in these times, were not tried 
by the senate itself as such, but by judges appointed from among the sen- 
ators, probably by lot, who formed a court presided over by that praetor, 
whose duty it was to conduct the qu&stio on that particular description of 
offence, and who held the trial in the Forum, quite in the manner of the or- 
dinary courts. The contemptuous conduct of Piso is shown, first, in his 
rejecting as unauthorized the citation of Marsus, and then in his taking it 
for granted that a charge of poisoning Germanicus would be proceeded with 
in just the same way as if he had been accused of the same crime against 
any other individual : whereas Germanicus (chap, lxxi.) and his friends pre- 
sumed that this crime, as being committed against a member of the imperial 
family, would be prosecuted in the senate ; as, in fact, it was. 

Laodiceam. Laodicea ad mare (AaodiKeca €7rl ttj 'O-aTidrrr}), on the 
coast, about fifty miles south of Antioch, and opposite the island of Cyprus. 
— Pacuvio. Compare Seneca, Ep., i., 12, 8. — Ne tentet. "Not to attempt 
to gain." — Imperatoris. Tiberius, not Germanicus. For the magnitudo 
(here " the might") applies only to the living ; that of Germanicus, therefore, 
could only have worked through the memory, and this has been already 
mentioned. Sentius regards himself as an executor of the orders left by 
Germanicus, and so as representative pf the emperor. 

Chap. LXXX. — Tutissima e prcesentibus. "The best measures of se- 
curity under existing circumstances." — Celenderis. On a lofty precipice, 
on the sea-coast. It was of Phoenician origin, but was afterward colonized 
by the Samians. It was in Cilicia Trachea. — Tirone nuper intercepto. 
Mentioned in chap, lxxviii. — In numerum. So that, in point of number, they 
formed a legion. In a different sense we have, in Hist., i., 87, " in numeros 
legionis composuerat," i. e., so that they formed divisions of a legion, namely, 
centuries, maniples, cohorts. — Consisterent in acie, &c. He only wants 
their presence in the battle-field for appearance' sake, since they may rest 
assured that the soldiers on the opposite side will not fight against him. — 
Parentem. Compare chap. Iv. — Jure. "On principles of justice." — Pro 
munimentis. In the ordinary sense of pro, " in front of;" different from pro 
muris in the next chapter. — Hinc militum, &c. " On one side was hardi- 
hood of troops, on the other ruggedness of situation," i. e., one side had the 
advantage in the hardy character of the troops, the other in the rugged and 
almost inaccessible nature of their position. — Sed non animus, &c, "But 
the latter had no spirit," &c. 

Chap. LXXXI. — Pro muris. " In front, upon the waUs." Different from 
pro munimentis in the previous chapter. — Semet afflictando. " By display 



340 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. LXXXII.jLXXXlir. 

ing the deepest affliction." — Cceptabat. "He strove to bring about." — 
Legionis sextos. Compare chap, lxxix. — Peti aggerem. Here, as always 
'* earth to be fetched for a mound," that is, to be cast into the trenches anu 
against the walls, to make it easier to scale them. This, even during a fight, 
was nothing unwonted to the Roman legions. Compare Cess., B. G., v., 9, 
6, where, after the enemy had been driven back into an intrenched wood, 
" Ipsi ex silvis rari propugnabant, nostrosque intra munitionem ingredi prohib- 
ebant. At milites legionis septimcB, testudine facta, et aggere ad munitiones 
adjecto, locum ceperunt (got footing), eosque ex silvis expulerunt." — Ingerere, 
" To pour." — Cui. " As to whom." 

Chap. LXXXII. — TJt ex longinquo. <4 As is natural in reports coming 
from a distance." Consult notes on i., 65. — Secretos sermones. Compare 
chap, xliii. — De Druso. The father of Germanicus. Compare Suetonius, 
Claud. 1. " Nee dissimulasse unquam pristinum se rei publiccs statum, quan- 
doque posset, restituturum. XJnde existimo nonnullos trader e ausos suspectum 
eum Augusto, revocatumque ex provincia, et quia cunctaretur, intcrceptum vene- 
no. Quod equidem magis, ne prcEtermitterem, retuli, quam quia verum out 
verisimile putem." Such certainly was the opinion of Tacitus also, and not 
merely concerning the death of Drusus, but also as to his and Germanicus's 
thoughts of restoring the republic. He reports these things only as popular 
views and by way of characterizing the state of public opinion. — Civilia 
filiorum ingenia. " The popular spirit of their sons." Drusus was step-son 
of Augustus. — Interceptos. Namely, the persons spoken of, Germanicus and 
his father. 

Sumto justitio. A justitium was regularly announced by the consuls in 
accordance with a decree of the senate. Compare, a3 regards its nature, 
notes on i., 16. — Quamvis leviter audita. " The tidings, though unauthenti- 
cated." — Tempore ac spatio. Hendiadys, for temporis spatio. 

Chap. LXXXIII. — Saliari carmine. This most ancient song was quite 
unintelligible to that age. (Compare Hor., Ep., ii., 1, 86 ; Quint., i., 6, 40.) 
Merely his name was inserted beside some other name ; or, if he had a 
whole verse given him, as we are informed that each several god invoked 
had his separate verse, which was named after him (Festus, p. 3, ed. Mull.)., 
it was his name with a burden, which was repeated with other names. To 
compose a verse in the ancient language was more than they were able to 
do at that time. — Sedes curules. A chair with a crown over it, in every place 
where tee Augustales had their appointed sittings, at solemnities and spec 
tacles. He belonged to their collegium. — Querceae coronce. Civic crowns. 
—Ludos circenses, &c. His image was to be borne along with those of the 
gods in the solemn processiDn which took place before the games. — Fla?nen. 
He was flamen of Augustus. His successor was his adoptive brother, Dru- 
sus (Orelli t Inscr., 211). 

Amano. Mount Amanus was a branch of Mount Taurus, which runs 
from the head of the Gulf of lssus to the principal chain, dividing Syria from 



BK. II., CH. LXXXIV., LXXXV.] ANNALS. 341 

Cilicia and Cappadocia. — Sepulcrum Antiochia, &c. " A cenotaph at An- 
tiochia, where his corpse was burned." — Epidaphnce. Consult notes on 
chap. lxix. — Colerentur. Referring to statuce. — Inter auctores eloquentice. 
"Among the masters of eloquence." Germanicus was not only an orator 
of considerable repute, but also a poet. Of the Greek comedies mentioned 
by Suetonius, which he composed, we have no fragments left ; but the 
remains of his Latin translation of the Phenomena of Aratus evince much 
skill in versification, and are superior in merit to the similar work of 
Cicero. We have also fragments of his Diosemeia or Prognostica, a phys- 
ical poem, compiled from Greek sources. 

Cuneum. Namely, in the theatre, where the knights, like the senators, 
had their appointed places, and, as this passage shows, one cuneus was 
called juniorum, the other seniorum. — Idibus Juliis. In the solemn pro- 
cession (transvectid) of the equestrian centuries, which took place every 
year on this day. v 

Chap. LXXXIV. — Deos virilis sexus. The one, Germanicus {Corp. 
Inscr. Gr. y 2630), died 23 A.D. ; on the other, Tiberius, consult vi., 46. — 
Modicis Penatibus. l ' In middling families. " — A d gJonam. ' ' To his own 
glorification." — Auctus liberis. He had already a daughter (iii. 29) ; but 
of her, by reason of her sex, no notice is taken here, where political im- 
portance is the point in consideration. 

Chap. LXXXV. — Libida. "The licentiousness." — Qucestum corporefa- 
ceret. ' ' Should become venal. " — Eques Romanus. The prohibition relat- 
ing to the order includes the like for the higher order of the senators. — 
Licentiam stupri vulgaverat. " Had openly declared herself a prostitute." 
— Ultionem legis. By indictment, according to the Lex Julia de adulte- 
riis. By this law, the husband of a wife taken in adultery was obliged 
to part from her immediately, if he would not himself be punished as a pro- 
curer ; for the next sixty days he alone had the right of bringing her to 
trial ; afterward he lost his prerogative. In the present case, the husband 
pleaded that the sixty days allowed him for consideration were not over. 

Satis visum de Vistilia, &c. As to her husband, his plea was deemed 
sufficient to arrest the proceedings against him. According to the exist- 
ing laws, he was not punishable, even if after the sixty days he failed to 
bring her to trial ; but as, in the proceedings against his wife, they went 
beyond the law as it then stood, so he had been called to account in an 
extraordinary manner. — Seriphon. Seriphos was a small, rocky island, 
one of the Cyclades, lying between Cythnus and Siphnus. In Eoman 
times it was noted for its poverty and wretchedness, and was consequent- 
ly made a place of exile under the emperors. 

Sacris JEgyptiis. The Egyptian rites here meant were those of Isis and 
Anubis. — Quatuormillia, &c. The greater part of these, however, were, ac- 
cording to Philo Judaeus (p. 568, ed. Jiang.), followers of Judaism. — Grav- 
itatem cadi. " The unhealthiness of the climate." The western and south- 



342 NOTES ON THE [BK. II., CH. LXXXVI.-LXXXVIII. 

era parts of Sardinia were in ancient times, as they are at the present 
day, exceedingly unhealtlry . — Vile damnum. ' ' It would be a small loss. " 

Chaps. LXXXVI. and LXXXVII. — Capiendam. "Was to be chosen." 
Capere is the technical word in such cases. — Septem et quinquaginta per 
annos. The ordinary period of service lasted for thirty years. During 
the first ten, the priestess was employed in learning her mysterious du- 
ties, being termed discipula ; during the next ten in performing them ; 
and during the last ten, in giving instructions to the novices. At the 
end of this period the} 7- might return to the world, and even enter into 
the marriage state. Few, however, availed themselves of these privi- 
leges ; those who did were said to have lived in sorrow and remorse ; 
hence such a proceeding was considered ominous ; and the priestesses 
for the most part died as they had lived in the service of the goddess. 

Fonteio Agrippm. Compare chap. nx^x.—Discidio. " By a divorce." 
— Quamvis posthabitam. Supply alteram. — Decies sestertii. Consult 
notes on chap, xxxvii. 

Statuit. " He fixed." — Modios. The modius, the principal dry meas- 
ure of the Romans, was equal nearly to two gallons English. — Divinas 
occupationes. "His divine employments."— -Angusta et lubrica, "Dif- 
ficult and dangerous." 

Chap. LXXXVIII. — Scriptores senator esque. This means the same 
persons : " people who at that time wrote and were senators." He adds 
the latter, because as such the}' might be supposed to have exact knowl- 
edge of the matter as it was transacted in the senate. — Qui venerium, &c. 
Usually, this is ascribed to the consul Fabricius, B.C. 278 ; by Claudius 
Quadrigarius (ap. Gell., iii., 8), to him and his colleague, Q. iEmilius. 
In Tacitus, however, the plural is certainly to be taken quite generally : 
this thing was characteristic of the ancient commanders generally.— 
Bello. "In the general issue of the war." — Duodecim potentive. His 
power may be dated from the overthrow of Varus, 9 A.D. ; and his 
death, which Tacitus mentions here, as the occasion led him to the sub- 
ject, falls therefore in 21 A.D. — Celebris. In the masculine, here and 
inxiiL, 47; xiv., 19. 



BOOK III. 

Chap. I. — Nihil intennissa, &c. Tacitus does not begin with the names 
of the consuls, but adds them in chap. ii. in passing, because part of Agrip- 
pina's voyage, which he left in ii., 79, falls in the preceding year. — Corey- 
ram. Corcyra, now Corfu, lay off the coast of Epirus. It is now one of 
the Ionian islands. — Calabrice. By Calabria was meant the peninsula in 
the southeastern extremhy of Italy, extending from Tarentum to the 
Promontorium Iapygium. — Plerique. Here, as often in Nepos and Livy, 
and elsewhere frequently in Tacitus, " very many." Compare iv., 9, 20 ; 
xii., 35 ; xiii., 25 ; Hist., i., 86, &c. — Illos. Namely, those who did it from 
attachment to the persons of Germanicus and Agrippina. — Brundisium. 
This port was the usual place for disembarkation from Greece and the 
East, and also the usual port for embarking for those quarters. It was 
connected with Rome by the Appian Way. — Fidissimum appulsu. On ac- 
count of its excellent harbor. Appulsu for appulsui, old form of the dative. 

Proximo.- maris. The parts of the sea lying nearest to the harbor, by 
people in boats and other small vessels. — Quaque longissime, &c. " And, 
as far as the eye could reach into the distance." — Turba. Supply erat. 
— Quid. For utfum. Consult notes on i., 47. — Duobus cum Uberis. Con- 
sult notes on ii., 70. — Idem omnium gemitus. " One simultaneous groan 
burst from all." — Proximos, alienos. " Relations, strangers," i. e., rela- 
tions from strangers. — In dolor e. This belongs to recentes. — Anteibant. 
Namely, in their expressions of sorrow. 

Chap. II. — Magistratus. "The municipal authorities." — Calabrim, 
Apulique et Campani. The funeral procession, as it moved along the 
Appian Way, would pass through these different districts of Italy. — 
Munerafungerentur. On the construction of this verb with the accusa- 
tive, consult Zumpt, § 466. — Incomta signa. " The military ensigns un- 
adorned." — Fasces. As insignia of the proconsular dignity of Germani- 
cus. — Colonias. All cities of Italy at that time were either colonies or 
municipia. Here the former name is not meant to exclude the latter, but 
for the sake of conciseness it is put for both, as, in fact, both stood upon 
a par in their relation to the state ; namely, as both consisted of Roman 
citizens. — Trabeati. " Arrayed in the trabea." The trabea of the eques- 
trian order was a toga ornamented with one or more horizontal stripes 
of purple. The trabea, on the other hand, which formed the sacred 
drapery of a deity, was entirely of purple. 

Diver sa. ' ' Lay away from the route. " — Tarracinam. Tarra cin a , more 
anciently called Anxur, was a town of Latium, situate fifty-eight miles 



344 NOTES ON THE [BK. III., CH. III.-V. 

southeast of Rome, on the Appian Way, and upon the coast. — Gefmanici. 
Belongs also to fratre. Which of Gernianicus's children had been in 
the city will be seen in the notes on ii., 41 and 70. — M. Valerius. M. 
Valerius Messala, grandson of the orator Messala Corvinus, and son of 
the Valerius Messala who was consul 3 B.C. The year meant in the 
text is 20 A.D. — M. Aurelius. M. Aurelius Cotta. In the MS. he is 
called C. Aurelius Cotta, but the praenomen is fixed by the list of con- 
suls appended to Dio Cassius's 57th book, and by Cassiodorus. — Disjecti. 
Applies merely to the people. 

Chap. III. — Auctores rerum. " The historians of the time." — Diurna 
CBctorum scriptura. ' ' In the daily record of events. " Called in xiii. , 81, by 
its proper name, l l diuma urbis acta." It appears to have been a species of 
gazette, published by authority of the government, during the later times 
of the republic, and under the empire. Compare Le Clerc, Des Journaux 
shez les Romains, Paris, 1848 . — Ullo insigni officio. * ' Any open part (in the 
funeral ceremonies). " — Cum. ' ' Although. " — Perscripti sint. ' ' Are there 
recorded. " — Perferre visu. With non toleravit, instead of the simple videre, 
to mark the difficulty more strongly. — Facilius crediderim. This sudden, 
abrupt transition shows that the writer did not mean the other two suppo- 
sitions to be taken in earnest. The connecting link is omitted. We may 
suppose parum haze verisimilia. — Tiberio et Augusta. The dative, instead 
of the ablative with the preposition a. Consult notes on ii,, 49. — Utpar 
mceror. Supply videretur.—Attineri. In the sense of retiueri, scil. domi. 

Chap. IV. — Tumulo Augusti. The mausoleum built by that emperor 
in the Campus Martius. Compare i., 8. — Vastus. " Desolate," — Itine- 
ra. "The streets." — Faces. It was the universal practice to carry 
torches at funerals. — Cum armis. In full equipment, because of the so- 
lemnity. — Per tribus. " Ranged according to their tribes." — Concidisse 
rempublicam. It was the popular belief, as before remarked, that German- 
icus was in favor of the restoration of the republic. — Imperitantium. 
" Those who ruled over them." — Studia hominum, &c. "The warm in- 
terest of all classes enkindled in favor of Agrippina." — Antiquitaiis. 
V Of the good old times," i. e., of primitive virtue. 

Chap. V. — Qui publici funeris pompam requirerent. u Who missed the 
pomp of a public funeral." The expression publicum funus means a funeral 
conducted on behalf of the state, and therefore also at the public charge. 
It was also called censoriumfunus, because it was the business of the cen- 
sors to put out on contract (locare) what was required for it in the way of 
public structures, and the like. This latter name was retained from earlier 
times even under the empire, when the office of censor no longer existed, 
and the contract was managed bj r other officers. The ceremony of depos- 
itingthe ashes of Germanicusinthe tomb was performed, as is evident from 
the nature of the case, and from the foregoing narrative, on behalf of tbe 
state ; there were, however, no complete obsequies, as these, unto thegath- 



BK. III., CH. VI.J ANNALS. 345 

ering of the ashes, had already been performed at Antioch. Compare ii., 
73. 

Ticinum. Now Pavia. — Lecto. Scil. funebri. The funeral couch al- 
ways stood in the vestibule. — Juliorumque. The images of the Claudian 
gens were brought out because Claudius Drusus belonged to it. The images 
of the Julian line were in like manner exhibited, because Drusus had passed 
into that line on his adoption by Augustus. There is no need, therefore, 
of our reading Liviorum with Lipsius, on conjecture, in place of Juliorum, 
although this is done by Muretus, Freinshemius, and Ernesti. — Defletum 
in foro, &c. If the deceased was of illustrious rank, the funeral proces- 
sion went through the Forum, where lamentations were raised anew, and 
it stopped in front of the rostra, where a funeral eulogy was pronounced. 

Decora. From decorus. — Prima. Scil. decora, which ought to have beer 
rendered in his obsequies at Antioch. — Fratrem, Lipsius conjectures fra 
tres, which some editors adopt. But the common reading fratrem is the true 
one. They censure only Drusus, who, they consider, might have carried 
his point, if he had been disposed to go farther to meet the party. Claudius 
they pass by, as one whose will carried with it no weight whatever. Corn- 
Dare notes on ii., 71. — Patruum. Tiberius. — Propositam toro effigiem. Es- 
pecially in such a case as the present, where the corpse had already been 
reduced to ashes. — Et lacrimas, &c. What precedes is in apposition to 
veterum instituta ; the words et lacrimas, &c, refer, on the other hand, to Ti- 
oenus and Drusus, who ought to have made arrangements for those other 
matters, and to have held the funeral orations. The meaning of vel is, " or 
to put it otherwise and more generally." The addition is not meant to de- 
note that they account tears as signs of real sorrow, but that, though in this 
case they would only have been feigned, they would, at any rate, have saved 
appearances. 

Chap. VI. — Gnarum id Tiberio fuit. Compare notes on i., 5. — Tamfla 
granti desiderio. "With such vehement regret." — Idque et sibi et cunctis 
egregium, &c. " And that this was honorable both to himself and to all, 
if a proper limit were only observed," i. e., and this expression of deep 
affliction was received by him as a mark of honor to himself, the near rela- 
tion of Germanicus, and was also honorable to the feelings of those who so 
deeply mourned the death of that individual ; only it should not be carried 
too far. Observe that adjiceretur is here employed for adhiberetur, but with 
precisely the same meaning. — Decora. From decorus. — Principibus viris et 
imperatori populo. " Unto princes and an imperial people." A gentle re- 
proof that the people had not shown themselves sufficiently penetrated by 
the feeling of the exalted position of Tiberius, but which is made to seem 
unintentional by placing the people themselves at the same elevation. 

Et ex mcerore solatia. " And that relief was obtained from mourning it 
self." — Referendum jam. " They must now bring back." — Amissa unica 
filia. Julia, 54 B.C. Compare Cic, ad Q. Fr., iii., 8, 3 : " De virtute et 
gravitate Caesaris, quam in summo dolore adhibuisset, magnam ex epistol i tua 

?2 



346 NOTES ON THE [BK. III., CH. VII.-IX 

accepi voluptatem."^ Augustus. Of the firmness shown by Augustus, con 
suit Suet., A ug., 65.— Proin repeterent solennia. " They should, therefore, 
return to their customary vocations."— Ludorum Megalesium. This festival 
was celebrated in honor of Cybele {fieyaXn &eoc , whence the name Mega- 
lesia, Ludi Megalesii, or Megalenses). — Suberat. The day of the celebration 
was the 4th of April. — Voluptates. "Their amusements." 

Chap. VII. — Exuto. " Being removed," i. e., being ended. — Reditum ad 
munia. " Men returned to their ordinary employments." — PetendcB uliionis. 
The genitive expresses the purpose of the action. Consult notes on ii., 59. 
— Vagus. " Roaming at large." — Arroganti et subdola mora, &c. " He was 
undermining by contemptuous and artful delay the proofs of his crimes." — 
Ut dixi. Compare ii., 74. — Venenumque nodo crinium, &c. The nodus 
of the Roman females corresponded to the Kpo)j3v? v og or ic6pv/i(3o<; of the 
Greeks. Poison was sometimes concealed in hollow hair-pins, to be used 
in desperate cases. — Nee ulla in corpore, &c. Consequently, it was quite 
possible that Germanicus also had been poisoned, although none of the usual 
post-mortem symptoms of poisoning were discovered on his body. 

Chap. VIII. — Haud .... quam. A union of two constructions, haud tarn 
.... quam, and haud .... sed, the complete negation being a little mitigated 
by the following quam. With asquiorem supply quam principem.— Trucem, 
" Implacable." — Quo integrum judicium ostentaret. " In order that he might 
make a display of a fair trial," i. e., might make it appear that the trial 
would be a fair one. — Auget. " Honors." — Quoe jacerentur. " Which were 
currently reported." Literally, " which were thrown out." — PrcBcipuum in 
dolore locum suum. Equivalent to sibi prcecipuam doloris causam esse. — 
Inania. " Without any foundation." Enlarging on the meaning of falsa. — 
Hobc palam. Supply respondit. And with secreto supply sermone or colloquio. 
—Prmscripta. "To have been dictated." — Senilibus turn artibus uteretur. 
" He practiced, on this occasion, the cunning of age." 

Chap. IX. — Dalmatico mart. That part of the Hadriatic between Dal- 
matia, in Illyricum, and the coast of northern Italy. — Anconam. Ancona 
was in Picenum, on the coast, near the northern extremity. — Flaminiam 
viam. Leading through Umbria. In its southern part lay Narnia, situate 
on a lofty hill, on the southern bank of the Nar, now the Nera, a tributary 
of the Tiber, into which it fell not far from Ocriculum. — Prazsidio Africa. 
Against Tacfarinas. It was the ninth legion, called Hispanica. — Ut. 
" How." — Ostentavisset. The subjunctive, as indicating what others as- 
serted, — Vitandm suspicionis. Consult notes on ii., 59. — Consilia in incerto 
sunt. "Their plans waver." — Tumulo Catsarum. Consult notes on i., 8. 
—Dieque et ripa frequenti. " And at a time of day and on a part of the riv- 
er's bank always marked by a crowd." Observe that frequenti belongs to 
both die and ripa, not merely to the latter. Compare Suet., Cal., 15 
" Medio ac frequenti die." — Irrilamenta invidim, " The incentives to populaf 



BK. III., CH. X., XI.] ANNALS. 347 

displeasure." — Imminent. "Proudly overlooking." — Convivium. "The 
guests."— -Celebritate loci. " On account of the frequented nature of the lo- 
cality." 

Chap. X. — Fulcinius Trio. Compare ii., 28. — Vitellius ac Veranius. On 
Vitellius, compare notes to i., 70 ; on Veranius, notes to ii., 56. — Tendebant, 
For contendebant. — Partes. Scil. accusatoris. That in this prosecution 
Trio had of right no part. — Mandata. "The injunctions." — Dimissa ejus 
causae delaiione. " Having dropped the accusation in that cause." — Cognitio* 
nem exciperet. " That he would take cognizance of the affair," i. e., would un- 
dertake the trial in person. It was competent to the emperor, if he chose, 
to judge any case of law that might occur at his own tribunal. He then 
usually took to himself a council (consilium) of persons of rank, in whom he 
had confidence. After acquainting himself, however, with the bearings of 
a case thus brought before him, the emperor might, as in the present in 
stance, remit it to the senate. But for him frequently to avail himself of 
this privilege of judging was considered to be contra bonos mores. 

Studia. Scil. in Germanicum. — Contra. Supply sperans. — Consciences 
matris. Compare ii., 43, 77, 82. — In deterius credita. " Misrepresented." — 
Moles cognitionis. "The heavy responsibility of the trial." — Quaque ipse 
fama distraheretur. " And by what imputations he himself would be as« 
sailed." — Preces. " The deprecatory defence." 

Chap. XI. — Illyrico. Observe the absence of the preposition, according 
to poetical usage, and compare ii., 69. — Ob receptum Maroboduum. "On 
account of the receiving of Maroboduus (into Roman protection)." Com- 
pare ii., 62, seqq. — Prolato honore, &c. " Having postponed the honor, en- 
tered the city (without that distinction)." — L. Arruntium, &c. In relation 
to Arruntius and x4.sinius Gallus, consult notes on i., 13. L. Vinicius is 
the uncle of M. Vinicius mentioned in vi., 15. The editions have here the 
name of the latter, but he was too young in comparison of the other persons 
here named. Suetonius (Aug., 64) calls L. Vinicius " clarus decorusque 
juvenis," and he is often mentioned by the rhetorician Seneca. — JEserninum 
Marcellum. ^Eserninus Marcellus was the grandson of Asinius Pollio. 
Compare xi., 6, seq. — Sextum Pompeium. Tacitus mentions Sextus Pom- 
peius, also, in i., 7. He was related to Augustus (Dio Cass., lvi., 29), and 
was a friend of Ovid and Valerius Maximus, the latter of whom praises his 
eloquence. 

Usque. Because the participle petenti and the following ablatives abso- 
lute contain two circumstances, they are connected, without regard to the 
form of the sentence by que ; the copula is used as if the form had been the 
following : reo, cum . . . peteret iique diversa excusarent, because the sense is 
the same. — M. Lepidus. Compare i., 13. — L. Piso. Compare ii., 32. — Id* 
vineius Regulus. Consul suffectus, A.D. 18. — Fides. " Fidelity." — Us kaud 
alias mtentior, &c. Observe that haud alms belongs alike to inte^itior and 
to plus permisit. 



348 NOTES ON THE [BK. III., CH. X1L-XIV 

Chap. XII. — Meditato temperamento. " Of studied temperament. '— £* 
gatum. Legatus pro praetore of Hispania Citerior, as appears from chap, 
xiii., for Hispania Ulterior was a senatorial province. Compare notes on 
i., 79. — Asperasset. "Whether he had exasperated." — Integris animis. 
"With unbiased minds." — Nam si legatus, &c. " For if he -who was the 
lieutenant of my son exceeded the limits of his commission, failed in proper 
respect to his commanding officer," &c. Observe the zeugma in exuit.-— 
Seponamque a domo mea. Namely, by revoking my friendship. — In cujus' 
cunque mortalium nece. That is, whoever the murdered man might be. — 
Exercitus. Compare notes on i., 52. — Per ambitionem. " By sinister arts." 
— In majus. " By way of aggravation." — Contrectandum. " To be scanned ." 
Compare Cic, Tusc, iii., 15, 33 : " Incitat ad conspiciendas totaque mente 
contrectandas varias voluptates." — Differrique etiam per externos. " And for 
the report to be spread even among foreign nations." 

Iniquitas Germanici. "Oppressive conduct on the part of Germanicus." 
— Pro approbatis. " As fully proved." — Fides. " True-heartedness," which 
holds it a duty to support a friend in trouble. Propinquus sanguis refers to 
L. Piso, the brother of the accused. — Super leges. Consult notes on ii., 79. 
— Modestia. " Impartiality." He means with the same impartiality as in 
the case of a private individual. — Nemo spectet. " Let no one regard." — 
Adversa. " Unfavorable reports." 

Chap. XIII. — Inania. " Having no bearing on the present case."— Quod 
neque convictum, &c. "Which neither, if proved, brought any guilt on the 
accused, in case he freed himself from recent charges," &c. Observe the 
double dative in noxa reo. — Servceus. Compare ii., 56. As the least im- 
portant of the prosecutors, he is particularly mentioned in the matter of Piso 
only here and in chap, xix., but not in ii., 74 ; iii., 10, 17. — Viteliius. The 
speech of Viteliius is cited by Pliny, H. N., xi., 37, 187 : " Negatur cremari 
vosse (cor) in Us qui cardiaco morbo obierint ; negatur et veneno mteremtis. 
Certe exstat oratio Vitellii qua reum Pisonem ejus sceleris coarguit, hoc usus 
argumento, palamque testatus non potuisse ob venenum cor Germanici Ccesaris 
cremari." — Sacra. " The orgies," solemnized as thanksgiving to the infer- 
nal gods. The accusers exaggerate the matter related in ii., 75. — Utque reu* 
agi posset, &c. " And in order that he might be dealt with as a criminal, 
he was conquered in a regular battle," i. e., he had to be conquered, the? 
were forced to defeat him, &c. 

Chap. XIV. — In ceteris trepidavit. " In every thing else faltered,'-' i. s. } 
was faltering in every article but one. — Obnoxiam. " Given up." — Impe- 
ratorem. As in chap. xii. : " Obsequium erga imperatorem." — Cum super eum 
Piso discumberet. The usual place of the host was the first or highest on 
the third or lowest couch. On the present occasion, however, Germanieus 
would seem to have occupied the middle place on the lowest couch, and 
Piso the one immediately above him. The most honorable place at a ban- 
quet was the lowest on the middle couch, commonly called the locus consul* 



BK. III., CH, XV.) ANNALS. 349 

r l §t — Infectos. Scil. veneno.—Familiam. His own slaves must have known 
about the procuring of the poison, those of Germanicus who waited at the 
banquet (ministros) about the way in which Piso may have managed to in 
troduce the poison into the viands handed about by them. 

Scripsissent. Before this word a hiatus occurs, which we have indicated 
by an asterisk. In this hiatus several particulars must have been embraced 
that are now wanting ; especially, that Piso, at his own request, was al- 
lowed to have the whole matter brought on for discussion de novo. For ir> 
chap, xiii. it is related, that in the first instance it was settled that the pros- 
ecutors should speak for two days, and, after six days, the defendants for 
three days. Now, although the process of the prosecution and defence has 
been already related, we find in chap. xv. that a renewed accusation took 
place, to be followed by a fresh defence (redintegratam accusationem and 
tamquam defensionem in posterum meditaretur). The defendant seems to 
have grounded his petition for a discussion de novo (comperendinatio) upon 
charges against Germanicus, which hitherto, out of forbearance, he had not 
gone into, and which were to justify his line of conduct (compare ii., 78) ; 
and thereupon the prosecutors, it seems, demanded (expostulates, as in xii., 
46 ; xv., 17, 53 ; Hist., i., 45 ; iii., 83) that his and Plancina's letters to Ti- 
berius and Livia should be laid before the senate, which, it might clearly 
be foreseen, would contain such hostility toward, and such calumniation of 
Germanicus, as could not fail to embitter the judges against him still more. 
The circumstance that in chap. xvi. there is again a hiatus, shows that in an 
older MS. part of a leaf was cut out, so that on both pages something was lost. 

Gemonias. "The Gemonian steps." Supply scalas. The Gemonics 
(scales) were a flight of steps on the Capitoline, leading to the Forum Ro- 
manum. To these steps the bodies of persons executed were dragged and 
there exposed.- — Divellebant. They did with the statues just what they 
would fain have done with Piso himself. Therefore the expression is di~ 
vellere, not frangere, or the like. Observe here the peculiar employment of 
the imperfect, indicating that they were in the act of doing this, and would 
have completed their intention had they not been prevented by Tiberius. — 
Sequeretur. Scil. tribunus. 

Chap. XV. — Gratia. " Interest in her behalf." — Quantum Ccesari in earn 
liceret. u How far the emperor would allow himself to proceed against her." 
Supply sibi. The meaning is, how far he would venture, against the oppo- 
sition of his mother, to bring Plancina to punishment. — Medics. " Were un- 
decided." Literally, " were midway," i. e. y between acquittal and condem 
nation. — Si ita ferret. " If fate would have it so." — Secretis Augustas prec* 
ilruz. " By her secret solicitations of Livia." — Dividere defensionem. " To 
make a separate defence." — Durat mentem. " He steels his mind." — Red. 
integratamque accusationem. Compare notes on previous chapter. — Nullo 
For nulla re. Later Latinity. — Ne, &c. " Against being," &c, as in jpro* 
hibere ne, " to prohibit the doing of a thing." The clause is objective l* ** 
stinatum clausumque. 



350 NOTES ON THE [BK. III., CH. XVL, XVII, 

Chap, XV . — Libdlum. "A bundle of writings." Libellus is here used 
technicaly, and does not mean, as it commonly does, a little book consisting 
of a number of pages. — Vulgaverit. The subjunctive, as giving the state- 
ment of others. — Destinatum. Supply Pisoni or ab eo. — Asseveraverim. 
" Will I venture to affirm." — Apud senatum. These words belong to the 
verb which is lost in the hiatus (perhaps queritur). Then, besides other 
matters, the passage lost would contain the name of the person interrogated 
by Tiberius, probably one of the two sons of Piso. — Sapienter. "With pru 
dence." — Inconsultius. " Somewhat confusedly." — Codicillos. " The let- 
tor." Alluded to in the previous chapter : " Pauca conscribk, obsignatque, 
et liberto tradit." — Quatenus. " Since." — Alia pietate. " With less rever- 
ence." — Per .... per. " By," belonging to rogo. Piso was consul with 
Tiberius 7 B.C. The forty-five years of his devotion to the imperial house 
are reckoned from his first entrance on public life. — Collegium consulatus. 
" My fellowship in the consulate." 

Chap. XVII. — Jussa. Supply fuisse, and compare notes onii.,31. — Cum 
pudore etflagitio dissernit. " He pleaded with a feeling of shame and with 
disgraceful importunity." We have given flagitium here the meaning as- 
signed to it by Botticher (Lex. Tac, s. v.), namely, " acris turpisque efflagi 
tatio." Compare also Doderlein, Syn. t ii., p. 142, seq.—Obtendens. "Al- 
leging." — Quod pro omnibus civibus, &c. " What the laws guarantee in the 
case of every citizen." — Proinde, We have given the conjecture of Rhe- 
nanus, with Walther, Ritter, and Nipperdey. The reading of the MS. and 
the ordinary editions is perinde. — Tamfeliciter expertas. " So successfully 
tried." — Imagine cognitionis. " In the semblance of a trial." So Tacitus 
calls the proceedings against Plancina, because the decision in her case 
was already given by the speech of Tiberius, of which the decree of the 
senate could be but the echo. 

Quam. Used here with augebatur, as elsewhere with malle, because in 
both words a comparative is implied. There is no need here of supplying 
potius or magis. The meaning is, " compassion became greater than hatred," 
— Aurelius Cotta. Compare chap. ii. — Eo etiam munere. That is, of giving 
their sentence, on the question being put. When one of the magistrates, 
whose duty it was (consuls, tribunes of the people, or, if the former were 
hindered, praetors), referebat f announced the subject for discussion, he passed 
by the magistrates who were in the senate (from the quaestor upward) in 
putting the question ; but these had the right at any time to put in their 
word unasked, whereas the other senators might speak only when called 
upon {rogati sententias) by the refer ens. 

Partem .... pars. " The one half," . ..." the other," as in iv., 20 
Hence, in chap, xviii., it is merely said, concessitque eipaterna bona f because 
as there were but two children, that half of the father's property which 
should have been forfeited formed the patrimony of M. Piso. The five mill- 
ion sesterces were to be told down to him as a gift by the state, after it had 
confiscated his inheritance. — Pr&nomen mutaret. He took the praenomei 






BK. III., CII. XVIII.] ANNALS. 33l 

Lucius. This is the name of the consul of A D. 27. -^-Exuta dignitate. H« 
was a senator. 

Chap. XVIII. — Bellum. He means that which terminated with the bat- 
Le of Actium, 32 B.C., not *hat of 44 B.C. On account of the last named, 
he was declared an eneiry (hostit judicatus est), and his name w T as erased 
from the public monuments (Cic, Phil, xiii., 12, 26), but was restored upon 
his victory in the triumvirate. — luli Antonii. Consult notes on i., 10. — Ig- 
nominicB. Therefore, from the expulsion from the senate, as well as from the 
relegatio. — Valerius Messalinus. Consult notes on i., 8. — Signum. Of the 
god in whose temple it was to be erected. — Martis Vltoris. Consult notes 
on ii., 64. — Carina Severus. Consult notes on i., 31. — L. Asprenas. Con- 
sult notes on i., 53. — Recentium seu veterum. " Of recent or ancient events," 
i. e. } the events of our own or of early times." — JJudibria rerum mortalivm. 
" Mockery in the affairs of mortals." — Veneratione. " Public veneration." 
— Qitttn. Claudius. 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



A. 

Abnoba Moxs. Nat in reality a single monntain, but that part of 
the range of hills covered by the Black Forest which lay opposite to the 
town of Augusta Rauracorum, now Augst. In later times it was some- 
times called Silva Marciana. Here are the sources of the Danube. 

Achaia. 1. The northern coast of the Peloponnesus, bounded on the 
north by the Corinthian Gulf and the Ionian Sea ; on the south by Elis 
and Arcadia ; on the west by the Ionian Sea ; and on the east by Sicy- 
onia. — 2. The Roman province, comprising all the Peloponnesus, and 
ail northern Greece south of Thessaly. It was formed on the dissolu- 
tion of the Achaean League in B.C. 146, and hence derived its name. 

Aceocerauxia. A promontory in Epirus, jutting out into the Ionian 
Sea. and forming the western extremity of the Ceraunii Montes. It is 
now Cape Linguetta. The coast in this vicinity was very dangerous to 
ships. The Acroceraunian promontory formed the dividing point on the 
coast of Greece between the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic. 

Actium. A promontory, and likewise a place, in Acarnania, at the en- 
trance of the Ambracian Gulf, off which Augustus gained the celebrated 
victory over Antony and Cleopatra, September 2d, B.C. 31. At Actium 
there was originally no town, but only a temple of Apollo, which was 
beautified by Augustus, who erected the city of ZSTicopolis on the opposite 
coast. incoDimemorationof his victory. Afewbuildings sprung up around 
the temple at Actium, but the place was only a kind of suburb to Xieopolis. 

Adrasa. Xow the Eder, a river of Germany, in the territory of the 
Catti, and near the modern Cassel. Consult notes on Ann., i., 56. 

Adula Moxs. Generally supposed to correspond to the modern 
Mount St. Gothard, in the Alps ; although some writers are rather in fa- 
vor of the lofty mountain group about the passes of the Splugen and & m 
Bernardino, and at the head of the valley of the Hinter Rhein. 

JEg-£_e, or JEgj:. A city of Asia Minor, to the north of Smyrna, on 
the River Hyllus. and in the neighborhood of Cyme and Temnus. It 
was of ^Eolian origin, and was one of the cities which suffered from the 
great earthquake in the reign of Tiberius (A.D. 17). 

iEsxn. A people of Germany, consisting of several tribes (^Estuorum 
gentes), dwelling in the northeastern part of the country, on the southeast 
or east of the Baltic, and bordering on the Tenedi. They were the occu- 
pants of the present coast of Prussia and Courland, as is evident from what 



354 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Tacitus saj's about their gathering amber. Their name is probably col- 
lective, and signifies the East men ; and it is 'still preserved in the mod- 
ern Esthen, the German name of the Esthonians. 

Africa, as a Roman province, was the name under which the Ro- 
mans, after the third Punic war (B.C. 146), erected into a province the 
whole of the former territory of Carthage. It extended from the River 
Tusca, on the west, which divided it from Nuinidia, to the bottom of the 
Syrtis Minor, on the southeast. It corresponds to the modern regency 
of Tunis. Another ancient name was Africa Propria. 

Albani. The inhabitants of Albania, a country of Asia, lying about 
the eastern part of the chain of Caucasus. They were a Scythian tribe, 
probably a branch of the Massagetas, and identical with the Alani. The 
Romans first became acquainted with them at the time of the Mithra- 
datic war, when they encountered Pompey with a large army. 

Albis. Now the Elbe, one of the great rivers of Germany. Tacitus 
places its sources in the country of the Hermunduri, but this is too far 
east. Dio Cassius (lv., 1) more correctly represents it as rising in the 
Vandalii Montes, the modern Riesengebirge. The Albis was the most east- 
erly and northerly river reached by the Romans in Germany. They first 
reached its banks in B.C. 9, under Claudius Drusus, but did not cross it. 
They crossed it for the first time in B.C. 3, under Domitius Ahenobarbus. 
The last Roman general who saw the Elbe was Tiberius, in A.D. 5. 

Aliso, or Alisum. A strong fortress in Germany, built by Drusus 
B.C. 11, at the confluence of the Luppia (now the Lippe) and the Aliso 
(now perhaps the Alme). Its site is supposed to be marked by the vil- 
lage of Elsen, about two miles from Paderborn. 

Amanus. Now Almadagk, a branch of Mount Taurus, running from 
the head of the Gulf of Issus in a northeast direction to the principal 
chain, and dividing Syria from Cilicia and Cappadocia. There were 
two passes in it ; the one, called the Syrian Gates, near the sea ; the 
other, called the Amanian Gates, farther to the north. 

Amisia. 1. A river in northern Germany, now the Ems. It was well 
known to the Romans, and Drusus fought on it a naval battle with the 
Bructeri, B.C. 12. — 2. A river of Germany falling into the Rhine. Con- 
sult notes on Ann., L, 60. — 3. A fortress on the left bank of the River 
Amisia or Ems, and corresponding perhaps to the modern Embden. 

Amsivarii. A German tribe, whose name is supposed to mean 
" dwellers on the Ems." Consult notes on Ann., ii. 8. 

Ancona. A town of Picenum, in Italj T , on the Adiiatic Sea, lying in 
a bend of the coast between two promontories. It was built by a Syra- 
cusan colony, about B.C. 392, and became under the Romans one of the 
most important sea-ports on the Adriatic. 

Angli, or Anglii. A German people of the race of the Suevi. Tacitus 
does not mention the part of the country which they occupied ; but, ac- 
cording to Ptolemy, they were the greatest tribe in the interior of Ger- 
many, extending farther east than the Langobardi, and to the north as 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 355 

far as the River Albis. Subsequently, in connection with other tribes, 
they immigrated, under the name of Anglo-Saxons, into England. 

Axgrivarii. A German tribe dwelling on both sides of the Visurgis 
or Weser, and separated from the Cherusci by an agger, or mound of 
earth. The name is usually derived from Angern, that is, "meadows." 
Towards the end of the first century they extended their territories 
southward, and, in conjunction with the Chamavi, took possession of 
part of the territory of the Bructeri, to the south and east of the Lippe ; 
the Angaria or Engern of the Middle Ages. 

Axsibarii. Atribe of Germany, the same probably with the Amsivarii. 

Antiochia. The capital of the Greek kingdom of Syria, and long the 
chief city of Asia, situate on the left bank of the Orontes, about twenty 
geographical miles from the sea. It was built by Seleucus Nicator, about 
B.C. 300. Under the Romans it was the residence of the proconsuls of 
Syria. 

Apollonis. A city of Lydia, between Pergamus and Sardis, named af- 
ter Apollonis, the mother of King Eumenes. It was one of the twelve cit- 
ies destroyed by the violent earthquake in the reign of Tiberius (A.D. 17). 

Apulia. A province or region in the southeast of Italy, between the 
Apennines and the Adriatic, bounded by the Frentani on the north, by 
Calabria and Lucania on the south, and by Samnium on the West. The 
Greeks gave the name of Daunia to the northern part of it. 

Aqcm: Sextle. Xow Aix, a Roman colony in Gallia Xarbonensis, 
founded by Sextius Calvinus, B.C. 122. Its mineral waters were long 
celebrated, but were thought to have lost much of their efficacy in the 
time of Augustus. Near this place Marius defeated the Teutones and 
Ambrones, B.C. 102. 

Aquitaxia. 1. The country of the Aquitani, in Gaul, extending 
from the Garumna {Garonne) to the Pyrenees, and from the Ocean to 
Gallia Xarbonensis. — 2. The Roman province of Aquitania, founded in 
the reign of Augustus, was of much wider eJRent, and was bounded on 
the north by the Ligeris {Loire), on the west by the Ocean, on the south 
by the Pyrenees, and on the east by Mons Cevenna, which separated it 
from Gallia Xarbonensis. 

Aravisci. A people of Pannonia, inhabiting the right bank of the 
Danube, whose language and customs were the same as those of the 
Osi; but it was uncertain whether the Aravisci had emigrated into 
Pannonia from the Osi, or the Osi had passed over into Germany from 
the Aravisci. Mannert makes the Aravisci to have dwelt in the east- 
ernmost angle between the Danube and Savus (Saave). 

Arii. A German tribe supposed to have lived by the Sudetan Mount- 
ains, in the neighborhood of Arnsdorf and Arnsberg. Their name appears 
to contain the same root which we find in the names of many nations of the 
Indo-European family. According to Herodotus (vii., 61, seq.), the Medes 
were originally called Arii, and the Persians Artcci. These names are 
identical with the Sanscrit word Arya, "honorable," by which, in the an- 



356 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

cient writings of the Hindoos, the followers of the Brahminical law are in- 
dicated. India proper is called in the most ancient Sanscrit works Arya- 
varta, " Holy Land." The same name was retained in the provinces of 
Arta and Ariana, whence the modern Persian name Iran is derived. 

Armenia. A country of Asia, lying between Asia Minor and the Cas- 
pian. It forms a lofty table-land, backed by the chain of Caucasus wa- 
tered by the Rivers Cyrus and Araxes, and containing the sources also 
of the Tigris and the Euphrates, the latter of which divides the country 
into two unequal parts, which were called Major and Minor. Armenia 
Minor was made a Roman province by Trajan. Armenia Major, after 
being a perpetual object of contention between the Romans and the Par- 
thians, was subjected ultimately to the revived Persian empire by its 
first king, Artaxerxes (Ardeshir), in A.D. 226. 

Arnus. Now the Arno, the cfrief river of Etruria, rising in the Apen- 
nines, flowing by Pisse, and falling into the Tjorhenian Sea. The whole 
length of its course is about 140 Italian or 175 Roman miles. 

Artaxata. The later capital of Armenia Major, built by Artaxias, 
under the advice of Hannibal, on a peninsula surrounded by the River 
Araxes. After being burned by the Romans under Corbulo (A.D. 58), 
it was restored by Tiridates, and called Neroniana, in honor of the Em- 
peror Nero, who had surrendered the kingdom of Armenia to him. 

Asciburgium. An ancient place on the left bank of the Rhine, found- 
ed, according to fable, by Ulysses. It is supposed to correspond to the 
modern Asburg, or the neighboring hamlet of Essenberg or Orsoy. 

Asia. The Roman province so called was formed out of the kingdom 
of Pergamus, bequeathed to the Romans by Attalus III. (B.C. 130), and 
the Greek cities on the western coast and the adjacent islands, with 
Rhodes. It included the districts of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and Phrygia, 
and was governed at first by proprastors, afterward by proconsuls. LTn- 
der Constantine the Great, a new division was made, and Asia only ex- 
tended along the coast frdBi the promontory of Lectum to the mouth of 
the Meander. 

Athesis. Now the Adige, or, as the Germans call it, the Etsch, rises 
in the Rsetian Alps, receives the Atagis, now Eisach, flows through Upper 
Italy past Verona, and falls into the Adriatic by many mouths. 

Augusta Rauracorum. Now Augst, the capital of the Rauraci, on 
the left bank of the Rhine, near the modern Baste. It was colonized by 
Munatius Plancus, under Augustus. 

Augusta Vindelicorum. Now Augsburg, the capital of Vindelicia 
or Raetia Secunda, on the Licus, or Lech. It was colonized by Drusus 
under Augustus, after the conquest of Raetia, about B.C. 14. 

Aviones. A tribe in the north of Germany, dwelling probably iu 
Schleswig, on the River Auwe, a tributary of the Eyder, or in the duchy 
of Lauenberg. 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 357 

B. 

Bactria, or Bactriana. A province of the Persian empire, bounded 
on the south by the range of Paropamisus, which separated it from Ariana; 
on the east by the northern branch of the same range, which divided it from 
the Sacae ; on the northeast by the Oxus, which separated it from Sogdia- 
na ; and on the west by Margiana. It was inhabited by a rude and war.ike 
people, who were subdued by Cyrus or his immediate successors. It was 
subdued in the conquests of Alexander, and formed a part of the kingdom 
of the Seleucidse, until B.C. 225, when Theodotus, its governor, revolted 
from Antiochus If., and founded the Greek kingdom of Bactria. -vhich 
lasted until B.C. 134 or 125, when it was overthrown by the Parthians. 
This Greek kingdom extended beyond the limits of the province of Bactria, 
and included at least a part of Sogdiana. The capital was Bactra or Zari- 
aspa, now Balkh. 

Bai^s. A town of Campania, in Italy, on a small bay to the west of 
Neapolis, and opposite Puteoli. It was situate in a beautiful country, 
which abounded in warm mineral springs. The baths of Baiae were the 
most celebrated in Italy, and the town itself was the favorite watering 
place of the Romans, who flocked thither in crowds for health and pleas- 
ure. The whole country was studded with the palaces of the Roman no^ 
bles and emperors, which covered the coast from Baiae to Puteoli : many 
of these palaces were built out into the sea. The site of ancient Baiae is 
now for the most part covered by the sea. 

Bastarn^e, or Bastern^e. A warlike German people, who migrated 
to the country near the mouths of the Danube. They are first mentioned 
in the wars of Philip and Perseus against the Romans, and at a later pe- 
riod they frequently devastated Thrace, and were engaged in wars with 
the Roman governors of the province of Macedonia. In B.C. 30, they were 
defeated by M. Crassus, and driven across the Danube ; and we find them, 
at a later period, partly settled between the Tyras (Dneister) and Borys- 
thenes (Dnieper), and partly at the mouth of the Danube, under the name 
of Peucini, from their inhabiting the island of Peuce, at the mouth of this 
river. 

Batavi, or Batavi. (Quantity of the penult doubtful, but more fre- 
quently long than short.) A Celtic people, who abandoned their homes in 
consequence of civil dissensions, before the time of Julius Caesar, and set- 
tled in the island formed by the Rhine, the Vahalis (Waal), and the Mosa 
(Meuse), which island was called, after them, Insula Batavorum. They 
were for a long time allies of the Romans in their wars against the Ger- 
mans, and were of great service to the former by their excellent cavalry; 
but at length, exasperated by the oppression of the Roman officers, they 
rose in revolt, under Claudius Civilis, in A.D. 69, and were with great dif- 
ficulty subdued. On their subjugation, they were treated by the Romans 
with great mildness, and were exempt from taxation. Their chief towns 
<vere Lugdunum (Ley den) and Batavodurum, between the Mosa and Vahalis. 



358 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Batavorum Insula. An island in the Rhine, formed by the northern 
arm of that river, or Rhine of Leyden, the ^ahalis ( Waal) before its junc- 
tion with the Mosa (Mcuse), the Vahalis and Mosa after their junction, 
and the Ocean. This island now forms part of the province of South 
Holland. 

Belg^e. One of the three great people into which Caesar divides the 
population of Gaul. They w T ere bounded on the north by the Rhine, on 
the west by the Ocean, on the south by the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona 
(Marne), and on the east by the territory of the Treveri. They were of 
German origin, and had settled in the country, after expelling or reducing 
to slavery the former inhabitants. They were the bravest of the inhabit- 
ants of Gaul, were subdued by Caesar after a courageous resistance, and 
were the first Gallic people who threw off the Roman dominion. 

Bithynia. A district of Asia Minor, bounded on the west by Mysia, 
on the north by the Pontus Euxinus, on the east by Paphlagonia, and on 
the south by Phrygia Epictetus. It was possessed at an early period by 
Thracian tribes from the neighborhood of the Strymon, called Thyni an«! 
Bithyni, of whom the former settled on the coast, the latter in the interior. 
The earlier inhabitants were the Bebryces, Caucones, and Mygdones, and 
the northeastern part of the district was possessed by the Mariandyni 
The country was subsequently subdued by the Lydians, and afterward be 
came a part of the Persian empire under Cyrus. During the decline of 
the Persian empire, the northern part of the country became independent 
under native princes, who resisted Alexander and his successors, and estab- 
lished a kingdom which lasted till the death of Nicomedes III. (B.C. 74), 
who bequeathed his dominions to the Romans. 

Bodotria, or Boderia ^stuarium. An estuary on the eastern coasi 
of Scotland, now the Firth of Forth. 

Bon. One of the most powerful of the Celtic tribes, said to have dwell 
originally in Gaul, but in what part of the country is uncertain. At an early 
period, they migrated in two great swarms, one of which crossed the Alps 
and settled in the country between the Po and the Apennines; the othei 
crossed the Rhine, and settled in the part of Germany called after them 
Boiemum (Bohemia), and between the Danube and the Tyrol. The Bon 
in Italy long carried on a fierce struggle with the Romans, but were at length 
subdued by the consul, P. Scipio, in B.C. 191, and were subsequently in- 
corporated in the province of Gallia Cisalpina. The Boii in Germany 
maintained their power longer, but were at length subdued by the Marco- 
manni, and expelled from the country. We find 32,000 Boii taking part in 
the Helvetian migration ; and after the defeat of the Helvetii (B.C. 58), C* 
sar allowed these Boii to dwell among the iEdui. 

Bovill^e. An ancient town in Latium, at the foot of the Alban Mount, 
on the Appian Way, about ten miles from Rome. Near it Clodius wen 
killed by Milo (B.C. 52), and here was the sacrarium of the Julia gens. 

Brigantes. The most powerful of the British tribes, inhabited th# 
whole of the northern part of the island from the Abus (Hi-mbcr) to th* 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX, 35$ 

Roman wall, with the exception of the southeast corner &f Yorkshire, whica 
was inhabited by the Parisii. The Brigantes, consequently, inhabited the 
greater part of Yorkshire, and the whole of Lancashire, Durham, Westmore- 
land, and Cumberland. Their capital was Eboracum (York). They were 
conquered by Petilius Cerealis in the reign of Vespasian. 

Britannia. The island of England and Scotland, called also Albion. 
The etymology of the word Britannia is uncertain, but it is derived by 
most writers from the Celtic term brith or brit, " painted," with reference 
to the custom, on the part of the inhabitants, of staining their bodies with a 
blue color. The name Albion is probably derived from the white cliffs of the 
island. The Britons were Celts, belonging to that branch of the race callea 
Cymry, and were apparently the aboriginal inhabitants of the country. 
Their manners and customs were, in general, the same as those of the Gauls ; 
but, being separated more than the Gauls from intercourse with civilized 
nations, they preserved the Celtic religion in a purer state than in Gaul, and 
hence Druidism, according to Caesar, was transplanted from Gaul to Britain. 
The Britons also retained many of the barbarous Celtic customs, which the 
more civilized Gauls had laid aside. At a later period, the Belgae crossed 
over from Gaul, and settled on the southern and eastern coasts, driving the 
Britons into the interior of the island. It was not till a late period that the 
Greeks and Romans obtained any knowledge of Britain. In early times, 
the PhcDnicians visited the Scilly Isles and the coast of Cornwall for the 
purpose of obtaining tin ; but whatever knowledge they acquired of the coun- 
try they jealously kept secret, and it only transpired that there were Cassi- 
ierides, or * tin-islands," in the northern parts of the ocean. The first cer- 
tain knowledge which the Greeks obtained of Britain was from the mer- 
chants of Massilia, about the time of Alexander the Great, and especially 
from the voyages of Pytheas, who sailed round a great part of Britain. 
From this time it was generally believed that the island was in the form of 
a triangle, an error which continued to prevail even at a later period. An- 
other important- mistake, which likewise prevailed for a long time, was the 
position of Britain in relation to Gaul and Spain. This will be found refer- 
red to in the notes on the " Agricola." The Romans first became person- 
ally acquainted with the island by Caesar's invasion. He twice landed in 
Britain (B.C. 55, 54), and though, on the second invasion, he conquered the 
greater part of the southeast of the island, yet he did not take permanent 
possession of any portion of the country, and after his departure the Britons 
continued as independent as ever. The Romans made no farther attempts 
to conquer the island for nearly one hundred years. In the reign of Clau 
dius (A.D. 43), they again landed in Britain, ard permanently subdued the 
country south of the Thames. The conquest of Southern Britain was finally 
completed by Agricola, who in seven campaigns (A.D. 7 $--84) subdued the 
whole of the island as far north as the Firth of Forth and the Clyde, be< 
tween which he erected a series of forts, to protect the Roman dominions 
from the incursions of the barbarians in the north of Scotland. The Ro- 
mans, however, gave up the northern conquests of Agricola in the reig-i of 



360 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Hadrian, and mads « rampart of turf from the Ituna iEstuarium (Solua^ 
Firth) to th3 German Ocean. In the reign of Antoninus Pius, however, 
they again extended their boundary as far as the conquests of Agricola, and 
erected a rampart connecting the Forth and the Clyde. The Caledonians 
afterward broke through this wall, and, in consequence of their repeated 
devastations of the Roman dominions, the Emperor Severus went to Britain 
in A.D. 208, in order to conduct the war against them in person. He died 
in the island, at Eboracum, in A.D. 211, after erecting a solid stone wall 
from the Solway to the mouth of the Tyne, a little to the north of the ram- 
part of Hadrian. After the death of Severus, the Romans relinquished for- 
ever all their conquests north of this wall. At a subsequent period, the 
Caledonians, who now appear under the names of Picts and Scots, broke 
through the wall of Severus, while the Saxons ravaged the coasts of Brit- 
ain ; and the declining power of the Roman empire was unable to afford 
the province any effectual assistance. Finally, in the reign of Honorius, 
Constantine. who had been proclaimed emperor in Britain (A.D. 407), with 
drew all the Roman troops from the island in order to make himself master 
of Gaul. The Britons were thus left exposed to the ravages of the Picts 
and Scots, and at length, in A.D. 447, they called in the assistance of the 
Saxons, who became the masters of Britain. 

The Roman dominions of Britain formed a single province till the time 
of Severus, and were governed by a legatus of the emperor. Severus di 
vided the country into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Inferior, of 
which the latter contained the earlier conquests of the Romans in the south- 
ern part of the island, and the former the later conquests in the north, the 
territory of the Silures, Brigantes, &c. A new division was made, in the 
reign of Diocletian, into four provinces: 1. Britannia Prima, the country 
south of the Thames. 2. Britannia Secunda, Wales. 3. Maxima C&sari- 
ensis, the country between the Thames and the Humber. 4. Flavia Ccesa- 
riensis, the country between the Humber and the Roman wall. Besides 
these there was also a fifth province, Valentia, which existed for a short 
time, including the conquests of Theodosius beyond the Roman wall. 

Bructeri. A people of Germany, who dwelt on each side of the Amisia 
(Ems), and extended south as far as the Luppia (Lippe). They joined the 
Batavi, in their revolt against the Romans, in A.D. 69. A few years after* 
ward, they were almost annihilated by the Chamavi and Angrivarii. 

Brundisium. A town in Calabria, on a small bay of the Adriatic, form- 
ing an excellent harbor, to which the place owed its importance. The Ap- 
pian Way terminated at Brundisium, and it was the usual place of embark- 
ation for Greece and the East. 

Buri. A German tribe living near the sources of the Viadrus (Oder) and 
Vistula, and extending as far as Briga and Cracow, or near to Troppau, in 
Silesia. In conjunction with the Daci, and afterward with the Marcomanni, 
ihey waged war with Trajan, M. Aurelius, and Commodus. 

Byzantium. Now Constantinople, a city on the Thracian Bosporus, 
founded by the Megariars, B.C. 658. Its favorable position, commanding 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 361 

as it did the entrance to the Euxine, soon rendered it a place of great com 
mercial importance. In A.D. 330 a new city was built by its side by Con- 
stantino, who made it the capital of the empire, and changed its name to 
Const antinopolis. 

c. 

CLesia Silva. One of the great forests of Germany, between Vetera and 
the country of the Marsi, that is, the heights extending between the Rivers 
Lippe and Yssel, as far as Coesfeld. 

Calabria. The peninsula in the southeast of Italy, extending from 
Tarentum to the Promontorium Iapygium, and forming, in strictness, part 
of Apulia. 

Caledonia. The northern part of Britannia. The name is variously 
derived ; the best etymology appears to be that which deduces the appella- 
tion Caledonians from the Celtic Gael Dun, " the Gael (Gauls) of the mount- 
ains," i. e., Highlanders. Xiphilinus, speaking after Dio Cassius, represents 
the Caledonians as having " neither walls, nor cities, nor tilth, but living by 
pasturage, by the chase, and on certain berries ; for of their fish they never 
taste. They live in tents. Their state is democratical. They fight from 
chariots : their arms consist of a shield and short spear, with a brazen knob 
at the extremity. They use daggers also." Vid. Britannia. 

Campania. A district of Italy, lying to the southeast of Latium, from 
which it was separated by the River Liris (Garigliano) . It is a volcanic 
country, to which circumstance it was mainly indebted for its extraordinary 
fertility, for which it was celebrated in antiquity above all other lands. It 
produced corn, wine, oil, and every kind of fruit in the greatest abundance, 
and in many parts crops could be gathered three times in the year. The 
fertility of the soil, the beauty of the scenery, and the softness of the cli- 
mate, the hea* of which was tempered by the delicious breezes of the sea, 
procured for Campania the epithet Felix, a name which it justly deserved. 

Camulodfnum. A town in Britain, now Colchester. Consult notes on 
Agric, c. xiv. 

Canopus, or Canobus. An important city on the coast of Lower Egypt, 
near the westernmost mouth of the Nile, which was hence called the Can- 
opic mouth. It was twelve geographical miles east of Alexandrea, and was 
the capital of the Nomos Menelaites. It had a great temple of Serapis, and 
a considerable commerce, and its inhabitants were proverbial for their luxury. 

Cappadocia. A district of Asia Minor, originally including all the coun- 
try east of the Halys, and north of the range of Taurus. It was afterward 
divided into two parts, the northern one becoming a separate province under 
the name of Pontus, and the southern one Cappadocia proper. Tiberius 
made Cappadocia a Roman province. The country was, in general, a ster- 
ile mountain region, but it contained some fine pastures, n^ich supported 
abundance of good horses and mules. 

Catti, or Chatti. One of the most important nations of Germany. 
Their name is connected with the old German word cat, or cad, "war," and 

a 



362 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

their territory ay in the modern Hesse and the adjacent countries. Ths 
Catti were a branch of the Hermiones, and are first mentioned by Caesai 
under the erroneous name of Suevi. Although defeated by Drusus, Ger* 
manicus, and other Roman generals, they were never completely subjuga- 
ted by the Romans ; and their power was greatly augmented on the decline 
of the Cherusci. Their capital was Mattium, now Maden. 

Cauci, or Chauci. A powerful people in the northeastern part of Ger 
many, between the Amisia {Ems) and the Albis {Elbe), divided by the Vi 
surgis {Weser), which flowed through their territory, into Majores and Mi 
nores, the former west and the latter east of the river. They are described 
by Tacitus as the noblest and justest of the German tribes. They formed an 
alliance with the Romans in A.D. 5, and assisted the latter in their wars 
against the Cherusci ; but this alliance did not last long. They were at 
war with the Romans in the reigns of Claudius and Nero, but were never 
subdued. They are mentioned for the last time in the third century, when 
they devastated Gaul, but their name subsequently became merged in the 
general name of Saxons. Their ancient appellation is still preserved, how- 
ever, in that of their harbor, Cuxhaven. 

Celenderis. A city of Cilicia Trachea, on a lofty precipice on the sea 
coast. It was of Phoenician origin, but was subsequently colonized by the 
Samians. The modern Chelendreh answers to the ancient site. 

Cercina. The larger of two islands off the eastern coast of Africa Pro- 
pria, at the northwestern extremity of the Syrtis Minor. The other island 
was named Cercinitis. The modern name of Cercina is Chercara, or Kar 
kenah. 

Chamavi. A people of Germany, who were compelled by the Roman 
conquests to change their abodes several times. They first appear in the 
neighborhood of the Rhine, but afterward migrated eastward, defeated the 
Bructeri, and settled between the Weser and the Harz. At a later period 
they dwelt on the Lower Rhine, and are mentioned as auxiliaries of the 
Franks. 

Chasuari. A German tribe, allies or dependents of the Cherusci. 
Their position is uncertain. They dwelt to the north of the Catti ; and in 
later times they appear between the Rhine and Meuse as a part of the 
Franks. 

Cherusci. The most celebrated of all the tribes of ancient Germany. 
The limits of their territory can not be fixed with accuracy, since the an- 
cients did not distinguish between the Cherusci proper and the nations be- 
longing to the league of which the Cherusci were at the head. The Che- 
rusci proper dwelt on both sides of the Visurgis ( Weser) f and their territo- 
ries extended to the Harz and the Elbe. They were originally in alliance 
with the Romans, but they subsequently formed a powerful league of the 
German tribes for the purpose of expelling the Romans from the country, 
and under the chief Arminius they destroyed the army of Varus, and drove 
the Romans beyond the Rhine in A.D. 9. In consequence, however, of in 
temal dissensions among the German tribes the Cherusci soon lost their in 
fluence. Their neighbors, the Catti, succeeded to their power. 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 363 

Cilic.a. A district in the southeast of Asia Minor, bordering to the east 
on Syria, to the north on Capnadocia and Lycaonia, to the northwest and 
west on Pisidia and Pamphylia. On all sides, except the west, it is inclosed 
by natural boundaries, namely, the Mediterranean on the south, Mount 
Amanus on the east, and Mount Taurus on the north. The western part 
of Cilicia is intersected by the offshoots of Taurus, while in its eastern part 
the mountain chains inclose much larger tracts of level country. Hence 
arose the division of Cilicia Trachea or Aspera, and Cilicia Campestris, the 
latter being also called Cilicia proper. The plains were settled by the 
Greeks after the conquest of Alexander, and the old inhabitants, who were 
principally of Syrian origin, were for the most part driven back to the 
mountains of Cilicia Trachea, where they remained virtually independent, 
practicing robbery by land and piracy by sea, until they were put down by 
Pompey, who, having also rescued the level country from Tigranes, who had 
overrun it, erected this latter into a Roman province, B.C. 67-66. The 
mountain country was not made a province till the reign of Vespasian. The 
Cilicians bore a low character among the Greeks and Romans. 

Cimbrica Chersonestjs. The modern Jutland. Vid. Cimbri. 

Cimbri. The accounts of the ancients respecting the seats of the Cimbri, 
or Cimmerii, abound in uncertainties and contradictions. Strabo place? 
them on the ocean, by the Elbe; Mela, in the islands of the Baltic ; Pliny, 
to the east of the Elbe, and on the peninsula which took its name from them ; 
Tacitus places them in the same quarter; Ptolemy, at the extremity of the 
Cimbric Chersonese. But, upon examination, it does not appear that they 
ever inhabited these parts. The Greeks first became acquainted with them 
on the northern coast of the Pontus Euxinus. They were driven from thiar 
quarter, and disappeared from the knowledge of the Greeks, who fabled that 
they dwelt on the shores of the Northern Ocean, in a land shrouded in per- 
petual night. Pytheas, who circumnavigated the greater part of the north- 
west of Europe, saw a large peninsula, where the long nights and intense 
cold in winter seemed to accord with the poetical descriptions of the land of 
the Cimmerii, and so assigned this country as their abode. In this he was 
followed by most of the ancient geographers. Strabo sets them down as one 
of the tribes with which they were best acquainted ; although in the next 
sentence he acknowledges that all beyond the Elbe was totally unknown to 
the Greeks (vii., p. 451, ed. Cas., 294). No mention is made of the Cimbri 
in the expeditions of Drusus and Germanicus ; and though the fleet of the 
latter discovered the Cimbric Chersonese of Pytheas, they found no Cim- 
brians dwelling in it, nor did it bear a name derived from that people. 
Ptolemy places them at the extremity of it, merely to fill up a gap, as he has 
no other tribe to fix in this locality. Their real country lay, probably, on 
the northeast side of Germany : it was on this side that they invaded Ger- 
many, and were opposed by the Boii, at that time the inhabitants of Bo- 
hemia. Botovg tov .'Eptcvviov dpvjibv oIkelv. Tovg de Ki/iftpovc op/Lir}- 
gclvtclc; km tov toitov tovtov anoKpovadevrag iwb rC)v Bottov etcl tov "la- 
rptv, k. r%- ( Strabo, vii., p. 293, edit, Casaub.) Together with the Teu 



864 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

tones they entered Gaul, w/iere they were joined by the Ambrones. "With 
their combined forces they then invaded Spain, but were repulsed by the 
Celtiberi. The Teutones and Ambrones then made an irruption into Italy, 
where they were defeated by Marius (B.C. 102). A part of the Cimbri, who 
had gone into Helvetia, were there joined by the Tigurini : these made 
another attack upon Italy, and defeated Catulus ; but were at last routed 
by Marius (B.C. 101). The remnant of them is said to have settled in He! 
Tetia. Some of the Boii appear to have accompanied them in their invasion 
of Italy. Their name is still preserved in the national appellation of thp 
Welch, Cymry. It is very difficult to decide whether the Cimbri were a 
Germanic or a Celtic tribe. The two races were not carefully distinguished 
by the Romans : Tacitus called them Germans ; but the Cymry certainly are 
not descendants of the Germans : their language is a Celtic dialect. In the 
war with Marius they were led by a Celtic commander, and the description 
of their arms points to the same origin. Yet we find them united with the 
Teutones. There is a similar difficulty in the case of the Belgoe. 

Cinithii. A people of Africa, on the coast, helow the Syrtis Minor. 

Clanis. Now the Chiaca, a river of Etruria rising from two small lakes 
west of the Lacus Trasimenus, and falling into the Tiber east of Vulsinii. 
Its waters formed large marshes near Clusium. 

Claros. A small town on the Ionian coast, near Colophon, with a cel- 
ebrated temple and oracle of Apollo, who was hence surnamed Clarius. 

Clota ^Estuarium. The Firth of Clyde, on the western coast of Scot- 
land. The name is sometimes written Glota. 

Colonia AgrippIna, or Agrippinensis. The modern Cologne, on the 
Rhine, originally the chief town of the Ubii, and called Oppidum, or Civitas 
Ubiorum. It was a place of small importance till A.D. 51, when a Roman 
colony was planted in the town by the Emperor Claudius, at the instigation 
of his wife Agrippina, who was born here, and from whom it derived its new 
name. Such is the commonly received account. On the probability, how- 
ever, of a colony having been established here at an earlier date by Agrippa, 
and of the colony sent out by Claudius being the second in the order of time, 
not the first, as well as for some remarks on the double name Agrippina and 
Agrippinensis, consult notes on Germ., c. xxviii. The inhabitants received 
the Jus Italicum. It soon became a large and flourishing city, and was the 
capital of Lower Germany. 

Colophon. One of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, about two 
nilee from the coast, on the River Halesus, between Lebedus and Ephesus, 
\t was one of the most powerful members of the Ionian confederacy, pos 
lessing a considerable fleet and excellent cavalry ; but it suffered greatly 
in war, being taken at different times by the Lydians, the Persians, Lysim- 
achus, and the Cilician pirates. It was made a free city by the Romans, 
after their war with Antiochus the Great. Colophon was celebrated for the 
oracle of Apollo Clarius in its neighborhood. Vid. Clards. 

Commagene. The northeasternmost district of Syria. It formed a part 
of the Greek kingdom of Syria, after the fall of which it maintained its in- 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 365 

dependence under a race of kings who appear to have been a branch <»i the 
family of the Seleucidae, and was not united to the Roman empire till the 
reign of Vespasian. The district was remarkable for its fertility. 

Corcyra. Now Corfu, an island in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of 
Epirus. The ancients universally regarded it as the Homeric Scheria, 
where the Phaeacians dwelt. It is said also to have borne the name of Dre- 
pane, or " the Sickle," in early times, on account of its peculiar shape. It 
became rich and powerful by its extensive commerce, and founded many 
colonies on the opposite coast, Epidamnus, Apollonia, Leucas, Anactorium, 
&c. It exercised, moreover, such influence in the Ionian and Adriatic seas 
as to become a formidable rival to Corinth, its parent city, and a collision 
between the two became one of the proximate causes of the Peloponnesian 
war. The power of Corcyra subsequently declined, in consequence of civil 
dissensions. Corfu is at present one of the seven Ionian islands under the 
protection of Great Britain. 

Corxavii. A people of Britain, dwelling to the east of the Ordovices. 
They appear to have occupied what are now Cheshire, Shropshire, Stafford, 
Worcester, and Warwick. Their chief city was Deva, now Chester. 

Cosa. A city of Etruria, near the sea, with a good harbor called Hercu- 
lis Portus. Cosa stood on a promontory called Cosanum Promontorium. 
It was a very ancient place, and after the fall of Falerii became one of the 
twelve Etrurian cities. The Romans colonized it in B.C. 273, and in 197 
it received an addition of one thousand colonists. 

Cous, Coos, or Cos. One of the islands called Sporades, lying off the 
coast of Caria, at the mouth of the Ceramic Gulf, opposite to Halicarnassus. 
It was colonized by iEolians, but became a member of the Dorian confed- 
eracy. Its chief city bore the same name, Cos, and stood on the northeast 
side of the island. Near it stood the temple of iEsculapius, to whom the 
island was sacred, and from whom its chief family, the Asclepiadae, claimed 
their descent. Cos was extremely fertile. It was the birth-place of Hip- 
pocrates the physician, and the painter Apelles. The modern name is 
Stanco. 

Cusus. A river of Germany, one of the tributaries to the Danube on its 
left bank. Now probably the Waag. 

Cyclades. A group of islands, in the ^Egean Sea, so called because 
they lay in a circle (ev kvk?m) around Delos, the most important of them. 
According to Strabo, they were twelve in number, but other writers make 
them more numerous. The most remarkable of them were Delos, Ceos, 
Cythnos, Rhenea, Siphnos, Cimolos, Naxos, Paros, Syros, Tenos, and An- 
dros. 

Cyme. The largest of the iEolian cities of Asia Minor, stood on the coast 
of iEolis, on a bay named, after it, Cumaeus Sinus (6 Kv/ualog K6?*nog), 
and had a good harbor. It was founded by a colony of Locrians. It was 
the mother city of Cumae in Campania, in Italy. 

Cyrrhus, or Cyrus. A city of Syria, founded under the Seleucidae, and 
called after the city of the same name in Macedonia. It is chiefly remarkab e 



S6(J GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

as the residence and sec of Theodoret, who describes its poverty, which he 
did much to relieve. It was the capital of the district of Cyrrhestice. 

D. 

Dacia. As a Roman province, was bounded on the south by the Danube, 
which separated it from Mcesia ; on the north by the Carpathian Mountains ; 
on the west by the River Tysia ( Theiss) ; and on the east by the River Hi- 
erasus (Pruth) ; thus comprehending the modern Transylvania, Wallachia, 
Moldavia, and part of Hungary. The Daci were of the same race, and spoke 
the same language as the Getae, and are therefore usually said to be of Thra- 
cian origin. They were a brave and warlike people. In the reign of Au- 
gustus, they crossed the Danube and plundered the allies of Rome, but were 
defeated and driven back into their own country by the generals of that em- 
peror. In the reign of Domitian, they became so formidable under their king, 
Decebalus, that the Romans were obliged to purchase a peace of them by 
the payment of tribute. Trajan delivered the empire from this disgrace. 
He crossed the Danube, and after a war of five years (A.D. 101-106) con- 
quered the country, made it a Roman province, and colonized it with inhab- 
itants from all parts of the empire. At a later period, Dacia was invaded by 
the Goths ; and as Aurelian considered it more prudent to make the Dan 
ube the boundary of the empire, he resigned Dacia to the barbarians, re 
moved the Roman inhabitants to Mcesia, and gave the name of .Dacia (Au- 
reliani) to that part of the province along the Danube where they were 
settled. 

Dah^e. A great Scythian people, who led a nomad life over a large ex- 
tent of country on the east of the Caspian, in Hyrcania (which still bears 
the name of Dahistan), on the banks of the Margus, the Oxus, and even the 
Iaxartes. Some of them served as cavalry and horse-archers in the armies 
of Darius Codomannus, Alexander, and Antiochus the Great, and they also 
made good foot-soldiers. 

Danubius. Now the Danube ; in German, the Donau ; in Hungarian, tho 
Buna. Strabo and Pliny make it rise in the chain of Mount Abnoba. Ac 
cording to modern accounts, it originates on the eastern declivity of the 
Black Forest, about twenty-four miles from the banks of the Rhine. Its 
course is calculated to be about one thousand seven hundred and seventy 
miles before it enters the Black Sea, and it receives sixty navigable rivers, 
the largest of which is the (Enus (Inn), and one hundred and twenty small- 
er streams. The Romans first obtained some accurate information about 
this river at the commencement of the empire. Tiberius, in his campaign 
against the Vindelici, visited the sources of the Danube. This river formed 
the northern boundary of the empire, with the exception of the time that 
Dacia was a Roman province. In the Roman period, the upper part of the 
river, from its source as far as Vindobona (Vienna), was called Danubius, 
while the lower part, to its entrance into the Black Sea, was named Ister. 

Decumates Agri. Tithe-lands, the name given by the Romans to a 
part of Germany, east of the Rhine, and north of the Danube, which they 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 367 

look possession of when the Germans retired eastward, and which they 
gave to the Gauls, and subsequently to their own veterans, on the payment 
of a tenth of the produce (decuma). Towards the end of the first, or the be- 
ginning of the second century of our era, these lands were incorporated in 
the Roman empire. 

Delphi. A small town in Phocis, but one of the most celebrated in 
Greece, on account of its oracle of Apollo. It was situated on a steep de- 
clivity on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus, and its site resembled 
the cavea of a great theatre. The government was an oligarchy, and was 
in the hands of a few distinguished families of Doric origin. From them 
were taken the chief magistrates, the priests, and a senate, consisting of a 
very few members. Delphi was the principal seat of the worship of Apollo. 
Besides the great temple of Apollo, it contained numerous sanctuaries, 
statues, and other works of art. The Pythian games were also celebrated 
here, and it was one of the two places of meeting of the Amphictyonic 
Council. 

Deva. The principal town of the Comavii, in Britain, now Chester. It 
was situate on the Seteia, now the Dee. Here were the head-quarters of 
the Legio XX. Victrix. 

Dulgibini. A German tribe, placed by Ptolemy on the eastern bank of 
the Weser, in the southern part of Calenberg, and the western half of Gru- 
benhagen. This, however, was not the position in which Tacitus knew 
them. Pie places them in the rear of the Chamavi and Angrivarii, in what 
was once the territory of the Bructeri ; and their settlements, according to 
this, would lie between the Ems and the Lippe, where the town of Dulgibi- 
num (JDulmen) was situated. They belonged to the Cherusci, and were ap- 
parently driven eastward by the same eruption of the Cauci as that which 
expelled the Angrivarii. 

E. 

Elephantine, or Elephantis. An island in the Nile, with a city of 
the same name, opposite to Syene, and seven stadia below the Little Cat- 
aract. It was the frontier station of Egypt towards Ethiopia, and was 
strongly garrisoned under the Persians and Romans. The island was ex- 
tremely fertile, the vine and the fig-tree never shedding their leaves : it had 
also great quarries. 

Elysii. A German tribe, supposed to have dwelt at Oels, in Silesia. 

Epidaphne, or Epidaphnes. A suburb of Antiochia, so called from a 
neighboring grove of bay-trees (6d(f)vy). 

Euboea. The largest island of the ^Egean Sea, lying along the coasts 
of Attica, Bceotia, and the southern part of Thessaly, from which countries 
it was separated by the Eubosan Sea, called in its narrowest part Euripus. 
Eubcea was celebrated for the excellence of its pastures and corn-fields. 
Under the Romans it formed part of the province of Achaia. The modern 
name is Negropont. 

Ei*doses. A German tribe, placed by some in Holstein, where Eutinum, 



368 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

the River Eydora (Eyder), and Euding, are supposed to have taken theh 
names from them. Others make them to have dwelt on the banks of th# 
River Dosse. 

Euphrates. A great river of Western Asia, forming the boundary of 
Upper and Lower Asia, consisting, in its upper course, of two branches, 
both of which rise in the mountains of Armenia. The northern branch is 
the true Euphrates ; the southern branch was called by the ancients Arsa- 
nias. It joins -the Tigris about sixty miles above the mouth of the Persian 
Gulf. The whole length of the Euphrates is between five hundred and six 
hundred miles. 

F. 

Fenni. A savage people, living by the chase, whom Tacitus reckons 
among the Germans. They appear to have dwelt in the farther part of East- 
ern Prussia, and to have been the same as the modern Finns. 

Florentini. The inhabitants of Florentia (now Florence, or Firenze), 
a town of Etruria, on the River Arnus (Arno). The place is supposed to 
have been founded by the Romans during their wars with the Ligurians. 
In the time of Sulla it was a flourishing municipium, but its greatness as a 
city dates from the Middle Ages. 

Forum Julii, or Julium. Now Frejus, a Roman colony founded by Ju- 
lius Caesar, B.C. 44, in Gallia Narbonensis, on the River Argenteus and 
on the coast, six hundred stadia northeast of Massilia. It possessed a good 
harbor, and was the usual station of a part of the Roman fleet. It was the 
birth-place of the celebrated Agricola. This city must not be confounded 
with another of the same name, likewise a Roman colony, in the country of 
the Carni, northeast of Aquileia, and now Friaul, or Friuli. 

Fosi. A German tribe, whose name is connected with that of the River 
Fuse, which flows into the Alter near Zelle. They were annihilated by the 
Langobardi. 

Fossa Drusiana. A canal, which Drusus caused his soldiers to dig in 
B.C. 11, uniting the Rhine with the Yssel. It probably commenced near 
Arnheim, on the Rhine, and fell into the Yssel near Doesberg. 

Franci. A confederacy of German tribes, formed on the Lower Rhine, 
in the place of the ancient league of the Cherusci, and consisting of the Sy- 
gambri, the chief tribe, the Chamavi, Amsivarii, Bructeri, Catti, &c. The 
name signifies " Free Men." They are first mentioned about A.D. 240. 
After carrying on frequent wars with the Romans, they at length settled 
permanently in Gaul, of which they became the rulers under their great 
King Clovis, A.D. 496. 

Fretum Siculum. The narrow strait which separates Sicily from Italy, 
now Faro de Messina. 

Frisii. A people in the northwest of Germany, who inhabited the coast 
from the eastern mouth of the Rhine to the Amisia (Ems), and were bound- 
ed on the south by the Bructeri. Their territory answered to the modern 
Friesland, Groningen, &c. Tacitus divides them into Majores and Minores, 



GEOGRAPHICAL IJg^X 369 

he former probably in the east, and the latter in the western part of the 
country. The Frisii were on friendly terms with the Romans from the 
time of the first campaign of Drusus until A.D. 28, when the oppression of 
the Roman officers drove them to revolt. In the 5th century we Una them 
joining the Saxones and Angli in their invasion of Britain. 

G. 

Gaetuli. The inhabitants of Gsetulia, a name applied by the ancients 
to a portion of the interior of Northern Africa, lying south of Mauritania, 
Numidia, and the region bordering on the Syrtes, reaching to the Atlantic 
Ocean on the west, and of very indefinite extent towards the east and south. 
The Gaetuli were a great nomad race, including several tribes, the chief of 
whom were the Autololes and Pharusii, on the western coast ; the Dura?, 
or Gaetuli-Durae* in the steppes of the Great Atlas ; and the Melanogaetuli, 
a black race, resulting from the intermixture of the Gaetuli with their south- 
ern neighbors, the Nigritae. The pure Gaetulians were not a negro, but a 
Libyan race, and were most probably of Asiatic origin. They are supposed 
to have been the ancestors of the modern Berbers. 

Gallia. A country of Europe, which, in the time of Augustus, was 
bounded on the south by the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean ; on the east 
by the River Varus and the Alps, which separated it from Italy, and by the 
River Rhine, which separated it from Germany ; on the north by the German 
Ocean and the English Channel ; and on the west by the Atlantic ; thus in- 
cluding not only the whole of France and Belgium, but a part of Holland, a 
great part of Switzerland, and all the provinces of Germany west of the 
Rhine. In B.C. 121, the southern part of Gaul was made a Roman prov 
ince, after the defeat of the Allobroges. The rest of the country was sub- 
sequently subdued by Julius Caesar, after a struggle of several years (58-50). 
At this period Gaul was divided into three parts, Aquitania, Celtica, and 
Belgica, according to the three different races by which it was inhabited. 
The Aquitani dwelt in the southwest, between the Pyrenees and the Ga- 
rumna {Garonne) ; the Celtae, or Galli proper, in the centre and west, be- 
tween the Garumna and the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona (Marne) ; and 
the Belgae in the northeast, between the two last-mentioned rivers and the 
Rhine. The Roman colony first founded in the south of Gaul, and of which 
we have already spoken, is in Caesar's Commentaries simply called Provin- 
cia, whence comes the modern name of Provence. The rest of Gaul was 
sometimes called, in contradistinction to the province, Gallia Comata, from 
the long hair worn by the inhabitants, according to the Gallic custom, and 
because in the province Roman manners and customs prevailed. At a 
later period, the provinces of Gaul were still farther divided, until at length, 
under the Emperor Gratian, the number of separate districts amounted to 
seventeen. 

Gambbivii. One of the early appellations of the German race, accord- 
ing to some authorities referred to by Tacitus (Germ., c. ii.). Various et 
ymologies have been assigned for the name, but all unsatisfactory. Wach 

0,2 



370 Gl^JRAPIITCAL INDEX. 

ter deduces it t.om gam, " a man," and brig, " a bridge ;" Longolius from 
gam, and bruch, " a marshy spot." 

Germani. The Germans, the inhabitants of Germania. This word 
Germania was employed by the Romans to designate a country of much 
greater extent than modem Germany. They included under this name afi 
the nations of Europe east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, bounded 
on the north by the German Ocean and the Baltic, including Denmark and 
the neighboring islands, and on the east by the Sarmatians and Dacians. 
It is difficult, however, to ascertain how far Germany stretched to the east. 
According to Strabo, Germanic tribes dwelt nearly as far as the mouths of 
the Borysthenes (Dnieper). Sometimes Germany proper was called Ger- 
mania Transrhenana, to distinguish it from the tract lying between the 
Rhine and Scheldt, which was called Germania Cisrhenana, after it had 
been inhabited by some German tribes which had crossed the Rhine, or 
had been brought over by Agrippa and Tiberius. The latter was also di- 
vided into Germania Superior, or Prima, extending along the Rhine from 
Pingium, beyond Argentoratum ; and Germania Inferior, or Secunda, reach 
:ng from Bingium to the sea. 

1. Origin of the Germanic Nations. 
The origin of the Germanic nations is involved in uncertainty. The in- 
habitants of the beautiful regions of Italy, who had never known a rougher 
country, could hardly believe that any nation had deserted its native soil 
to dwell in the forests of Germany, where severe cold prevailed for the 
greater part of the year, and where, even in summer, impenetrable woods 
prevented the genial rays of the sun from reaching the ground. They thought 
that the Germans must have lived there from the beginning, and therefore 
called them indigence, or natives of the soil. ( Germ., 2.) Modern inquiries, 
however, have traced the descent of the Germanic race from the inhabitants 
of Asia ; since it is now indisputably established that the Teutonic dialects 
belong to one great family with the Latin, the Greek, the Sanscrit, and the 
other languages of the Indo-European chain. Von Hammer calls the Ger- 
mans a Bactriano-Median nation. He makes the name Germani, or Ser- 
mani, in its primitive import, to have meant those who followed the worship 
of Buddha ; and hence the Germans, according to him, are that ancient and 
primitive race who came down from the mountains of Upper Asia, the cra- 
dle of the human species, and, spreading themselves over the low country 
more to the south, gave origin to the Persian and other early nations. 
Hence the name Dschermania, applied in early times to all that tract of 
country which lay to the north of the Oxus. The land of Erman, therefore, 
which was situate beyond this river, and which corresponds to the modern 
Chorasin, is made by Von Hammer the native home of the Germanic race, 
and the Germans themselves are, as he informs us, called Dschermani, 
their primitive name, by the Oriental writer* down to the fourteenth cen- 
tury. (Wien. Jahrb., vol. ii., p. 319. Compare vol. ix., p. 39.) Another 
remarkable cir Mimstance is, that, besides the name referred to, that of tho 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 371 

modurn Prussians may be found under its primitive form in the Persian 
tongue. We have there the term Pruschan, or Peruschan, in the sense of 
"a people." In Meninski (i., p. 533) we have Berussan and Beruschan, 
in the sense of " communitas ejusdem religionist while in Ferghengi Schu- 
uri, Peruschan, or Poruschan, more than once occurs (vol. i., B., 182, &c.) 
Even the name Sachsen, or Sassean (Saxons), is to be found in the Persian 
tongue under the form Sassan, as indicating not only the last dynasty of 
the Persian empire (the Sassanidae), but also those acquainted with the 
doctrines of the Dessatin, the old Persian dialect of which is far more near- 
ly related to the Gothic than the modern Persian to the German. In the 
Oriental histories, moreover, mention is made of the dynasty of the sons 
of Boia, in whom we may easily recognize the progenitors of the Boii ; 
while traces of the name of the Catti may be found in that of Kat, in Cho- 
rasin. (Ferg. Schuuri, B., 231.) Even as early as the time of Herodotus, 
the name of the Tepfidviot, appears among the ancient Persian tribes (Herod., 
i., 125), while the analogies between the Persian and German are so strik- 
ing as to have excited the attention of every intelligent scholar. And, be- 
sides all this, an ancient Georgian MS. of laws, not long since brought to 
light, proves conclusively that the Georgian nation had among them ordeals 
precisely similar to those of the early Germans, and also the same judicial 
forms of proceeding, and the same system of satisfactions to be paid in 
cases of homicide, according to the rank of the party slain. (Annal. de 
Legislat. et dejurispr., N. 40, Paris, 1829. Compare, on the whole subject, 
Kruse's Archiv der Germanischen Volkerstdmme, ii., p. 124, seqq.) If these 
premises be correct, the commonly received etymology of the name Ger- 
tnani, which makes it equivalent to " war-men," or " warriors," falls, of 
course, to the ground. (Consult notes on chapter ii.) It may not be 
amiss, however, after having stated what appears to be the most probable 
view of the subject, to give a few other etymologies for the name Germani, 
each of which has its advocates. Thus, Althamer makes Germanus equiv- 
alent to " homo prorsus virilis," and the same, in fact, as Alaman, i. e., 
Ganz-Mann. Wackernagel, on the other hand, explains Germanus by G'er- 
manus f i. e., Volksgenosse. Luden thinks that the term Germania is nothing 
more than the German Wehrmannei, and that there were several such Ger- 
manic, or " confederacies" (Eidsgenossenschaften), such as those of the 
Cherusci, the Catti, the Cauci, &c. ; and hence the union of all of these 
would form what he terms " Gesammtgermanien." (Gesch. der Deutschen, i., 
p. 163.) And, finally, the name Germani is supposed by some to be derived 
from ger, which, according to them, appears in the French guerre, " war," 
and man. (Compare the etymological remarks under the article Teutones.) 

2. Geographical Acquaintance with Ancient Germany. 
Our information concerning the geography of ancient Germany is very 
scanty and uncertain. The Greek and Roman writers, from whom our 
knowledge of it is derived, knew very little about it themselves. A knowl- 
edge of the German Ocean and the northern parts of Europe, had been ac- 



372 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

ouired, first by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, who procured tin from 
the Cassiterides or from Britain, and amber from the shores of the Baltic 
(see c. 45) ; and in the year B.C. 400, by Himilco the Carthaginian, whose 
voyage has besn described by the poet Avienus (Plin., ii., 67) ; in B.C. 
330, by Hecataeus and Philemon (Plin., iv., 13, or 27) ; and about the same 
time, by Ephorus and Clitarchus (Strab., vii., 2, 1, p. 293); by Timaeus, 
Xenophon of Lampsacus, Sotacus, Nicias, Xenocratss, Mithradates, and 
especially Pytheas of Massilia, who, in the year B.C. 320, sailed to Thule, 
and thence into the Baltic. (Strab., i., 4 ; ii., 3, 4 ; iii., 2 ; iv., 4, 5. Plin., 
iv., 16, or 27, 30 ; xxxvii., 2, or 11.) The knowledge which the Romans 
possessed of Germany and the western parts of Europe was derived prin- 
cipally from the expeditions of Caesar, Drusus Germanicus, Germanicus, 
and Ahenobarbus. Drusus Germanicus, the brother of Tiberius, made 
four expeditions into Germany, and dug the canal between the Rhine and 
the Chisala (Yssel). He was the first who navigated the German Ocean, 
but did not advance farther than the mouth of the Amisia (Ems), in the 
territory of the Cauci. Germanicus, the son of Drusus (A.D. 14-16), made 
four expeditions into Germany, and advanced still farther; he was ship- 
wrecked on the territory of the Frisii (Ann., i., 49-52, 55-59, 60-71 ; ii., 
5-26, 41-46). L. Domitius Ahenobarbus crossed the Elbe, and penetrated 
farther into Germany than any of his predecessors. (Ann., i., 63; iv., 44. 
Suet., Ner., iv.) Tiberius advanced to the Arctic Sea (Ann., ii., 26, 47 ; 
xii., 39. Dio., Iv., 6, 8, 28 ; lvi., 25. Suet, Tib., 9, 17, 18, 20. Veil., ii., 
97, 104-110, 120.) This expedition of Tiberius, however, Strabo (vii., 1, 
p. 291) and Tacitus himself (c. 34) attribute to Drusus Germanicus. On 
the south side of Germany the Romans made no conquests beyond the 
Danube ; but they obtained some geographical knowledge through the jour- 
neys of the traders who procured amber from the shores of the Baltic, and 
from their wars with the Daci, Marcomanni, and other tribes on this fron- 
tier. Strabo wrote in the age of Tiberius, when the Romans possessed a 
more accurate knowledge of Germany than at any other time, through the 
expeditions of which we have just spoken. After this period the Romans 
were almost entirely shut out of Germany. Strabo, however, is exceed- 
ingly careless. He did not read even Caesar's Gallic war with sufficient 
attention to understand it, and confuses almost every thing which he ex- 
tracts from the accounts brought home by Pytheas. Our difficulties are, 
moreover, increased by the inaccuracy of the text. Pomponius Mela is 
worth nothing. Pliny, likewise, was very careless, as we see, even in 
what he says of Italy ; we can not, therefore, look for much accuracy in his 
account of Germany. His work is principally valuable for the proper names. 
The imperfect character of the geographical knowledge which Tacitus pos- 
sessed of Germany is manifest from his work upon the subject. Ptolemy 
has ventured to give a map of Germany, and to lay down the latitudes and 
longitudss of a number of towns and mouths of rivers. The greater pait of 
these he never visited himself; and who, in that age, could have furnished 
him with the requisite information? Indeed, his map bearr but a faint r* 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 37» 

tsemblance to the actual shape and features of Germany ; and, in the ma- 
jority of instances, it can with difficulty be determined whether the towns 
he mentioned existed at all. There is this additional disadvantage in his 
book, that he defines positions by numbers, which, of all things, are the most 
liable to alteration through the mistakes of the transcribers. One of the 
most valuable geographical monuments of antiquity, Antoninus's Itinerary, 
compiled under the direction of J. Caesar and Antony or Augustus, is 
available only for a few roads on the frontier. The Peutingerian Table is 
frequently of use in making maps ; since, though the countries are excess- 
ively distorted, the distances between the towns laid down on it are given ; 
but it is of scarcely any service in the case of Germany. Inscriptions and 
coins, again, which afford some of the best means of defining the situations 
of places, are of rare occurrence in Germany. But, in addition to all these 
difficulties and disadvantages, the wandering and unsettled character of the 
Germans themselves renders it totally impossible to lay down a map which 
should represent the relative positions of the tribes at any one period, or 
for any length of time, though we can generally determine the position 
which individual tribes occupied at some time or other. This is seen from 
the wide discrepancies between Tacitus and his contemporaries, and Ptol- 
emy, and from such glimpses as history affords us of the migrations of sev- 
eral of the tribes. 

Getje. A Thracian people, called Daci by the Romans. Herodotus and 
Thucydides place them to the south of the Ister (Danube), near its mouths ; 
but in the time of Alexander the Great, they dwelt beyond this river, and 
north of the Triballi. They were driven by the Sarmatians farther west 
towards Germany. For their later history, vid. Dacia. 

Gothini. A German tribe, supposed by some to have lived in Cracow 
or on the banks of the Marus (March.) , as it is said that the Quadi imposed 
a tribute upon them. Others place the Gothini on the south of the Danube. 
Gotones, Gothones, and Gothi. A powerful German people, who 
played an important part in the overthrow of the Roman empire. They 
originally dwelt on the Prussian coast of the Baltic, at the mouth of the Vis- 
tula, where they are placed by Tacitus ; but they afterward migrated to 
the south, and at the beginning of the third century they appeared on the 
coasts of the Black Sea, where Caracalla encountered them on his march 
to the east. In the reign of the Emperor Philippus (A.D. 244-249), they 
obtained possession of a great part of the Roman province of Dacia ; and. 
m consequence of their settling in the countries formerly inhabited by tne 
vietas and Scythians, they are frequently called both Getae and Scythians 
by later writers. From the time of Philippus the attacks of the Goths 
Against the Roman empire became more frequent and more destructive. In 
A.D. 272, the Emperor Aurelian surrendered to thsin the whole of Dacia 

A is abeut this time that we find them separated nto two great divisions, 

lie Ostrogoths; or Eastern Goths, and the Visigoths, or Western Goths. 

The Ostrogoths settled in Mcesia and Pannonia, while the Visigoths re. 

mained north of the Danube. The Visigoths, under their king, Alanc, in 



374 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

vaded Italy, and tooK. and plundered Rome in A.D. 410. A few years aft* 
erward, they settled permanently in the southwest of Gaul, and established 
a kingdom, of which To\osa was the capital. From thence they invaded 
Spain, where they also founded a kingdom, which lasted^or more than two 
centuries, till it was overthrown by the Arabs. The Ostrogoths meantime 
had extended their dominions almost up to the gates of Constantinople ; 
and the Emperor Zeno was glad to get rid of them by giving them perrais 
sion to invade and conquer Italy. Under their king, Theodoric the Great, 
they obtained possession of the whole of Italy in A.D. 493. Theodoric 
took the title of King of Italy, and an Ostrogothic dynasty reigned in the 
country till it was destroyed by Narses, general of Justinian, A.D. 553. 

Grampius Mons. Now the Grampian Hills, a range of mountains w 
Caledonia, separating the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. Agricola 
penetrated as far as these mountains, and defeated Calgacus at their foot. 
The name of the ridge in the ancient Scottish tongue was Grantzbain. 

H. 

Hellusii. A German tribe, dwelling in the extreme north, of wnom 
nothing certain is known. They probably inhabited Lapland. Consult 
notes on Germ., c. xlvi. 

Helvecones. A German tribe, who dwelt between Ukermark and 
Priegnitz. 

Helvetii. A brave and powerful Celtic people, who dwelt between 
Mount Jura, the Lacus Lemannus {Lake of Geneva), the Rhone, and the 
Rhine, as far as the Lacus Brigantinus {Lake of Constance). They were 
Jhus bounded by the Sequani on the west ; by the Nantuates and Lepontii, 
in Cisalpine Gaul, on the south ; by the Raeti on the east ; and by the Ger- 
man nations on the north, beyond the Rhine. Their country, called Ager 
Helvetiorum (but never Helvetia), thus corresponded to the western part of 
Switzerland. Their chief town was Aventicum ( Avenches). They were 
divided into four Pagi, or cantons, of which the Pagus Tigunnus was the 
most celebrated. The Helvetii are first mentioned in the war with the 
Cimbri. In B.C. 107, the Tigurini defeated and killed the Roman consul, 
L. Cassius Longinus, on the Lake of Geneva, while another division of the 
Helvetii accompanied the Cimbri and Teutones in their invasion of Gaul. 
Subsequently, the Helvetii invaded Italy along with the Cimbri ; and they 
returned home in safety, after the defeat of the Cimbri by Marius and Catu- 
lus, in B.C. 101. . About forty years afterward, they resolved, upon the 
advice of Orgetorix, one of their chiefs, to migrate from their country, 
with their wives and children, and seek a new home in the more fertile 
plains of Gaul. In B.C. 58, they endeavored to carry their plan into exe- 
cution, but they were defeated by Cassar, and driven back into their own 
territories. The Romans now planted colonies and built fortresses in their 
country (Noviodunum, Vindonissa, Aventicum), and the Helvetii gradually 
adopted the customs and language of their conquerors. They were severe- 
lv punished by the generals of Vitellius, in A.D. 70, when they refused to 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 375 

acknowledge the latter as emperor ; and after that time they are rarely 
mentioned as a separate people. When Gaul was subdivided into a greater 
number of provinces under the later emperors, the country of the Helvetii 
formed, with that of the Sequani and the Rauraci, the province of Maxima 
Sequanorum. 

Heniochi. A people in the range of Mount Caucasus, to the west of 
the Albani, and north of the River Phasis. They were notorious as robbers. 

Hercynia Silva, or Hercynium Jugum. An extensive range of 
mountains in Germany, covered with forests. Caesar describes it as nine 
days' journey in breadth, and more than sixty days' journey in length, ex 
tending eastward from the territories of the Helvetii, Nemetes, and Rauraci, 
parallel to the Danube, as far as the frontiers of Dacia. Under this general 
name Caesar appears to have included all the mountains and forests in the 
south and centre of Germany ; namely, the Black Forest, Odenwald, Thurin 
gerwald, the Harz, the Erzgebirge, the Riesengebirge, &c. As the Romans 
became better acquainted with Germany, the name was confined to narrow- 
er limits. Pliny and Tacitus use it to indicate the range of mountains be- 
tween the Thiiringerwald and the Carpathian chain. The name is still 
preserved in the modern Harz and Erz. 

Herminones. According to some modern authorities, a name indica- 
ting the main or parent stem of the German race, occupying the central parts 
of the country. It is supposed to contain the root of the national name Ger- 
mani, namely Herm-, or Gherm- (i. e., Hermin-ones, Gherman-ones), by those 
who consider that name to be of Oriental origin. Consult remarks under 
the article GerMania. 

Hermunduri. One of the most powerful nations of Germany, belonging 
to the Suevic race, and dwelling between the Mcenus (Main) and Danube. 
They were bounded by the? Montes Sudeti in the north, the Decumates Agri 
in the west and south, the Narisci on the east, the Cherusci on the north- 
east, and the Catti on the northwest. They were for a long time the allies 
of the Romans ; but along with the other German tribes they assisted the 
Marcomanni in the great war against the Romans in the reign of Marcus 
Aurelius. After this time they are rarely mentioned as a separate people, 
hut are included under the general name of Suevi. 

Herth^ Insula. An island in the Northern Ocean, according to Tac 
itus, sacred to Hertha, the goddess of the Earth among the ancient Germans 
Now most probably the Isle of Rugen, in the Baltic. Consult notes on 
Germ., c. xl. 

HlBERNlA. The island of Ireland, also called by the ancients Ierne, 
Iverna, and Juverna. The name Hibernia appears to have been derived 
from the inhabitants of its southern coast, called Juverni by Ptolemy ; to 
whom also the names Iverna and Juverna are to be traced. The original 
name of the island, however, was probably Bergion or Vergion. It is men- 
tioned by Caesar, and is frequently spoken of by subsequent writers ; but 
the Romans never made any attempt to conquer the island, though they ob- 
tained some knowledge of it from the commercial intercourse which waa 



376 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

carried on between it and Britain. We have no account of the island ex> 
cept from Ptolemy, who must have derived his information from the state- 
ments of the British merchants who visited its coasts. 

Hierocvesarea. A city of Lydia, between the Caicus and Hermus. Di- 
ana Persica was worshipped here, and her rites are said to have been estab 
lished at this place as early as the reign of Cyrus. This was one of the 
twelve cities of Asia Minor overthrown by the &reat earthquake in the reign 
of Tiberius. 

Hispania. A peninsula in the southwest of Europe, now Spain and 
Portugal. The Romans, as early as the end of the second Punic war, di 
vided this country into two provinces, separated from one another by the 
[berus (Ebro), and called Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, the formei 
oeing to the east, and the latter to the west of the river. In consequence 
of there being two provinces, we frequently find the country called Hispa 
ni<s in the plural. Augustus made a new division of the country, and 
formed three provinces, Tarraconensis, Bostica, and Lusitania. The first of 
these derived its name from Tarraco ( Tarragona), the capital of the province 
and comprehended the whole of the northwest and centre of the peninsula. 
It was by far the largest of the three. Bcetica derived its name from the 
River Baetis (Guadalquiver), and was separated from Lusitania, on the north 
and west, by the River Anas (Guadiana), and from Tarraconensis, on the 
east, by a line drawn from the River Anas to the promontory Charidemus, 
on the Mediterranean. The province Lusitania corresponded very nearlv 
in extent to the modern Portugal. 

Horesti. A tribe of Britain, placed by Richard of Cirencester in the 
peninsula of Fife. All that appears with regard to their situation, from the 
narrative of Tacitus, is, that they lay somewhere between the Grampian 
Hills and the previously conquered nations to the south of the Forth. 

I. 

Iceni. A numerous and powerful people in Britain, who dwelt to the 
north of the Trinobantes, in the modern counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. 
Their revolt from the Romans, under their heroic Queen Boadicea, is eel 
ebrated in history. Their chief town was Venta Icenorum (now Caister), 
about three miles from Norwich. 

Idistaviso. A plain of Germany, probably in the neighborhood of the 
Porta Westphalica, between Rinteln and Hausberge. Here Germanicus de 
feated Arminius. On the meaning of the name, consult notes on Ann., ii., 16 

Ilium. Consult notes on Ann., ii., 54. 

Illyricum. Included, in its widest acceptation, all the land west of 
Macedonia, and east of Italy and Raetia, extending south as far as Epirus, 
and north as far as the valleys of the Savus and Dravus, and the junction 
of these rivers with the Danube. This wide extent of country was inhab- 
ited by numerous Illyrian tribes, all of whom were more or less barbarous. 
They were probably of the same origin as the Thracians, but some Celts 
were mingled with them The ccjntrv was divided into two parts • 1 // 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 377 

lyris Barbara or Romana, the Roman province of Illyricum, extending along 
the Adriatic from Italy (Istria) to the River Drilo, and comprehending a part 
of modern Croatia, the whole of Dalmatia, almost the whole of Bosnia, and 
a part of Albania. 2. Illyris Grazca, or Illyria Proper, also called Epirus 
Nova, extended from the Drilo, along the Adriatic, to the Ceraunian Mount- 
ains, which separated it from Epirus proper. It was bounded on the east 
by Macedonia, and embraced the greater part of modern Albania. 

Ing^evones. A name given, according to Tacitus, to one of the three 
treat geographical divisions of the German race. It is thought by some to 
1 e the same with the native term Inbewohner, and to mean " the inhabitants 
i>{ the inner coasts." If this supposition be correct, the Latin form of the 
name ought to have the long penult, Ingcevones. Compare Ist^evones. 

Intemelii. A people in Liguria, on the coast, whose chief town was 
Albium Intemelium, now Vintimiglia. 

Interamna. An ancient municipium in Umbria, situate on the River 
Nar (Nera), and surrounded by a canal flowing into this stream, whence its 
inhabitants were called Interamnates Nartes. It was the birth-place of the 
historian Tacitus, as well as of the emperor of the same name. The mod 
ern name is Terni. 

Ist^evones. A name given, according to Tacitus, to one of the three 
great geographical divisions of the German race. It is thought by some to 
be the same with the native term Westbewohner, or " the inhabitants of the 
western parts of the country." On this supposition the penult ought to he 
long in Istaevdnes, Compare Ing^tones, 

L. 

Langobardi, or Lqngobardi. A German tribe of the Suevic race 
They dwelt originally on the left bank of the Albis (Elbe), near the Rivei 
Saale ; but they afterward crossed the Elbe, and dwelt on the eastern bank 
of the river, where they were for a time subject to Maroboduus in the reign 
of Tiberius. After this they disappear from history for four centuries 
Like most of the other German tribes, they migrated southward ; and in the 
second half of the fifth century, we find them again on the north bank of the 
Danube, in Upper Hungary. Here they defeated and almost annihilated 
the Heruli. In the middle of the sixth century they crossed the Danube, at 
the invitation of Justinian, and settled in Pannonia. Here they were en 
gaged for thirty years in a desperate conflict with the Gepidae, which only 
ended with the extermination of the latter people. In A.D. 568, Alboin, the 
King of the Langobardi, under whose command they had defeated the Gep- 
idae, led his nation across the Julian Alps, and conquered the plains of 
Northern Italy, which have ever since retained, by a slight corruption, the 
name of Lombardy. Here he founded the celebrated kingdom of ;he Lorn* 
bards, which existed for upwar^ of two centuries, till its overthrow by Char- 
lemagne. 

Laodj pea. Called, for distinction' sake from other places of the same 
name, Liodicea zd Mare (km ry $a?.a,TTrji) i a city on the coast of Syria, 



378 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX, 

about fifty mles south of Antioch. It was built by Seleucus L, on the site 
of an earlier city called Ramitha, or Aevkt) 'Akt7J. It had the best harbor in 
Syria, and the suyrounding country was celebrated for its wine and fruits, 
which formed a large part of the traffic of the place. It was also an im- 
portant city under the Roman empire. 

Liburnia. A district of Illyricum along the coast of the Adriatic, sep- 
arated from Istria on the northwest by the River Arsia, and from Dalmatia 
on the south by the River Titius, thus corresponding to the western part of 
Croatia and the northern part of the modern Dalmatia. The inhabitants 
the Liburni, supported themselves chiefly' by commerce and navigation. 
They were celebrated at a very early period as bold and skillful sailors, and 
they appear to have been the first people who had the sway of the waters 
of the Adriatic. Their ships were remarkable for their swift sailing, and 
hence vessels built after the same model were called Liburnic<z, or Liburnce 
naves. It was to light vessels of this description that Augustus was mainly 
indebted for his victory over Antony's fleet at the battle of Actium. The 
Liburnians were the first lllyrian people who submitted to the Romans. 
Being hard pressed by the Iapydes on the north, and by the Dalmatians on 
the south, they sought the protection of Rome at a comparatively early 
period. Hence we find that many of their towns were immunes, or exempt 
from taxes. 

Liguria. A district of Italy, which, in the time of Augustus, was bound 
ed on the west by the River Varus (Var) and the Maritime Alps, which 
separated it from Transalpine Gaul ; on the southeast by the River Macra, 
which separated it from Etruria ; on the north by the Po ; and on the south 
by the Sinus Ligusticus, or Gulf of Genoa. The country is very mountain- 
ous and unproductive. The chief occupation of the inhabitants was the 
rearing and feeding of cattle. The numerous forests on the mountains pro- 
duced excellent timber, which, with the other products of the countiy, was 
exported from Genua (Genoa), the principal town of the country. The in- 
habitants were called by the Greeks Ligyes and Ligystini, and by the Ro- 
mans Ligures. 

Limyra. A city in the southeastern part of Lycia, on the River Limyrus, 
twenty stadia from its mouth. Here the young prince Caius Caesar, son of 
Agrippa and Julia, died of a wound which he had received in Armenia, A.D. 4. 

Logana, or Lohana. One of the tributaries of the Rhine, on its right 
oank, in Germania Magna. It is now the Lahn. 

Londinium, or LondInum. The capital of the Cantii in Britain, situate 
»n the southern bank of the Tamesis ( Thames), in the modern Southwark, 
hough it afterward spread over the other side of the river. It is not men- 
ioned by Caesar, probably because his line of march led him in a different 
♦irection ; and its name first occurs in the reign of Nero, when it is spoken 
v»f as a flourishing and populous town, muaii frequented by merchants, al- 
though neither a Roman colony nor a municipium. On the revolt of the 
Britons under Boadicea, A.D. 62, the Roman governor, Suetonius Pauli 
mu ab«.a^oned Londinium to the enemv, who massacred the inhabitants 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 379 

and plundered the town. From the effects of this devastation it gradually 
recovered, and it appears again as an important place in the reign of Anto- 
ninus Pius. It was surrounded with a wall and ditch by Constantine the 
Great, or Theodosius, the Roman governor of Britain ; and about this time 
it was distinguished by the surname of Augusta, whence some writers have 
conjectured that it was then made a colony. Londinium had now extended 
so much on the northern bank of the Thames, that it was called at this 
period a town of the Trinobantes, from which we may infer that the new 
quarter was both larger and more populous than the a.M part on the south- 
ern side of the river. London was the central point from which all the 
Roman roads in Britain diverged. 

Lugduxum Batavorum. The chief town of the Batavi, now Leyden 
Vid. Batavi. 

Luppia. Now the Lippe, a navigable river in the northwest of Ger 
many, which falls into the Rhine at Wesel, in Westphalia, and on which 
the Romans built a fortress of the same name. 

Lygii. An important people in Germany, between the Viadus {Oder) 
and the Vistula, in modern Silesia and Posen. They were bounded by the 
Burgundiones on the north, the Gothi on the east, the Bastarnae and Osi on 
the west, and the Marsingi, Silingae, and Semnones on the south. They 
were divided into several tribes, the chief of which were the Manimi, Duni, 
Elysii, Buri, Arii, Naharvali, aad Helveconse. They first appear in history 
as members of the great Mareornannic league formed by Maroboduus in the 
reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. In the third century some of the Lygii 
immigrated with the Burgundiones westward, and settled in the country 
bordering on the Rhine. 

M. 

Macedonia. As a Roman province, comprised not only Macedonia 
proper, but also Thessaly to the south, and Illyricum to the west. The Ro- 
man province of Macedonia, accordingly, extended from the JEgean to the 
Adriatic Seas, and was bounded on the south by the province of Achaia. It 
was originally governed by a proconsul. Tiberius made it one of the prov- 
inces of the Caesars, but it was restored to the senate by Claudius. 

Macedones Hyecani. The inhabitants of a city named Hyrcania, sit 
uate in the Hyrcanian plain of Lydia, to the southeast of Thyatira. It was 
one of the twelve cities which suffered from the violent earthquake in the 
reign of Tiberius. Compare Brotier, ad Tac, Ann.* ii., 47. 

Magxetes. The inhabitants of Magnesia ad Sipylum, a city in the 
northwestern part of Lydia, in Asia Minor, at the foot of the northwestern 
declivity of Mount Sipylus, and on the southern bank of the Hermus. It 
*s famous in history as the scene of the victor}' gained by the two Scipios 
>ver Antiochus the Great, which secured to the Romans the empire of the 
East, B.C. 190. It suffered, with :ther cities of "Asia Minor, from the great 
earthquake in the reign of Tiberf ;s ; but it was still a place of importance 
in the fifth century. 



380 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Manimi. A German tribe, supposed to have lived at the mouth of th# 
Neisse. It is impossible, however, to determine their precise position. 

Marcomanni. A German tribe, of whom we first hear in the army o 
Ariovistus, when he was at war with Caesar and the Helvetians (Cass., B. 
G., i., 51), on the Rhine ; then between the Main and the Neckar. After 
Caesar's death they dwelt between the Danube and the Drave, in Austria and 
Hungary, till the Romans conquered Pannonia and the Noric Alps, whet*, 
they withdrew to the opposite side of the river, into the country formerly 
occupied by the Boii, whom they expelled. This they did under the guid- 
ance of Maroboduus, who, in his youth, had come to Rome and been edu- 
cated at the court of Augustus. He raised his people to a high pitch of 
prosperity, and formed a league including a great number of the Suevic 
tribes, of which the Langobardi and Semnones were the most northerly. 
His power had become formidable to Rome, and Tiberius prepared to in- 
vade his dominions. But a sudden insurrection of the Pannonian and Dal- 
matian tribes compelled Tiberius to conclude a treaty with him (Veil, ii., 
108-110 ; Ann., ii., 16). The Langobardi and Semnones having withdrawn 
from Maroboduus, and attached themselves to Arminius, the chief of the 
Cherusci, a war ensued between them. Inguiomerus, the uncle of Armini- 
us, came over to Maroboduus, who was defeated, and compelled to retire 
among the Marcomanni, and apply to Rome for assistance (Ann., ii., 44-46). 
It appears that a peace was then concluded between them. Maroboduus 
was soon after expelled by Catualda, and forced to take refuge in Italy : he 
lived there, at Ravenna, for eighteen years. Catualda was driven out by 
the Hermunduri, and also fled to Tiberius for protection. The followers 
of these two princes were settled beyond the Danube, between the Morava 
and Gran, and Vannius, from the tribe of the Quadi, was appointed as their 
king (Ann., ii., 62, 63; xii., 29, 30; Hist., iii., 5). Peace was maintained 
between the Romans and the tribes along the Danube till the reign of Do- 
mitian, when hostilities broke out, and continued almost uninterruptedly till 
the destruction of the Roman empire (Dio, lxvii., 7 ; Plin., Pan., viii., 12). 
For an account of the great Marcomannic war in the reign of M. Aurelius, 
see Dio, lxviii., 9 ; lxxi., 3, 8-15, 20-33 ; lxxii., 2. After the death of At- 
tila, in whose army they served, they are not any more heard of. 

Mare Dalmaticum. That part of the Adriatic which lay off the coast 
of Dalmatia, in Illyricum. 

Mare Adriaticum, or Hadriaticum. Now the Gulf of Venice, or the 
Adriatic. Its ancient name was derived from the town of Adria or Hadria, 
between the mouths of the Padus (Po) and Athesis (Adigc), The lower 
part, to the south of H3 r druntum (Otranto), in Calabria, and the Acrocerau 
nian promontory, opposite, on the coast of Epirus, was called Mare Ionium 
or the Ionian Sea. 

Mare Ionium. The Ionian Sea, a part of the Mediterranean between 
Italy and Greece. It formed, in fact, the southern portion of the Adriatic, 
and began on the west at Hydruntum (Otranto), in Calabria, and on tho 
east at the Acroceraunian promontory, on the coast of Epirus. Its name 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 381 

was usually derived by the ancients from the mythic wanderings of Io ; but 
it came in reality from the Ionian colonies, which settled in Cephallenia 
and the other islands off the western coast of Greece. 

Mare Lycium. That part of the Mediterranean which lay along the 
coast of Lycia, in Asia Minor. 

Mare Rubrum. In its most general acceptation, the same as the Mare 
Erythrceum of the Greek writers (ft 'Epv&pu -&a?*,aooci) y namely, the whole 
expanse of sea between Arabia and Africa on the west and India on the 
east, including its two great gulfs (the Red Sea and Persian Gulf). At a 
subsequent period, the appellation Mare Rubrum became identical with 
that of Sinus Arabicus, or the Red Sea. 

Mare Suevicum. Now the Baltic. Its southwestern part was called 
Sinus Codanus, often erroneously taken for the Baltic itself. 

Marsi. A people of Germany, who appear to have dwelt originally on 
both banks of the Amisia (Ems), and to have been only a tribe of the Che- 
rusci, although Tacitus makes them to have been one of the most ancient 
tribes in Germany. They joined the Cherusci in the war against the Ro- 
mans, which terminated in the defeat of Varus ; but they were subsequently 
driven into the interior of the country by Germanicus. 

Marsigni. A German tribe, who seem to have lived in the vicinity of 
the modern Warsaw. They are perhaps the same race with the Marsi, or 
else their descendants. 

Marus, or Morus. One of the tributaries of the Danube, on its left 
bank, now the March. This stream became well known to the Romans in 
their war with Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni. 

Massilia. Now Marseilles, a Greek city in Gallia Narbonensis, on the 
coast of the Mediterranean, in the country of tire Salyes. It was found- 
ed by the Phocasans of Asia Minor, about B.C. 600, and soon became a 
very flourishing city. It extended its do*minion over the barbarous tribes 
in its neighborhood, and planted several colonies on the coast of Gaul and 
Spain. Its naval power and commercial greatness soon excited the jealousy 
of the Carthaginians, who made war upon the city ; but the Massilians not 
only maintained their independence, but defeated their opponents in a sea 
fight. At an early period they cultivated the friendship of the Romans, to 
whom they always continued faithful allies. Accordingly, when the south- 
eastern corner of Gaul was made a Roman province, the Romans allowed 
Massilia to retain its independence and its own constitution. Massilia was 
for many centuries one of the most important commercial cities in the an- 
cient world. Its inhabitants had long paid attention to literature and phi- 
losophy ; and under the Roman emperors it became one of the chief seats 
of learning, to which the sons of many illustrious Romans resorted to com- 
plete their studies. 

Mattiaci. A people of Germany, who dwelt on the eastern bank of the 
Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, and were a branch of the Catti. 
They were si bellied by the Romans, who, in the reign of Claudius, had 
fortresses and .silver mines in their country. After the death of Nero, they 



382 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

revolted against the Romans, and took part with the Catti and other Ger- 
man tribes in the siege of Moguntiacum. From this time they disappear 
from history, and their country was subsequently occupied by the Aleraan* 
tti. Their chief towns were Aquas Mattiacae ( Wiesbaden), and Mattiacum 
{Marburg). 

Mattium. The chief town of the Catti, situate on the Adrana (Eder), 
It was destroyed by Germanicus. The site answers to the modern Maden. 

Miletus. One of the*greatest cities of Asia Minor, belonging territori- 
ally to Caria, and politically to Ionia, being the southernmost of the twelve 
cities of the Ionian confederacy. It stood upon- the southern headland of 
the Sinus Latmicus, opposite to the mouth of the Maeander. The adjacent 
territory was rich in flocks ; and the city was celebrated for its woolen fab- 
rics, the Milesia vellera. At a very early period it became a great maritime 
state, extending its commerce throughout the Mediterranean, and even be- 
yond the Pillars of Hercules, but more especially in the direction of the 
Euxine, along the shore of which the Milesians planted several important 
colonies. Miletus also occupies a high place in the early history of Greek 
literature, as the birth-place of the philosophers Thales, Anaximander, and 
Anaximenes, and of the historians Cadmus and Hecataeus, Under the Ro 
man sway, it still appears as a place of some consequence. 

Mcentjs, or Mjenus. Now r the Main, a river of Germany, rising in the 
Montes Sudeti, flowing through the territory of the Hermunduri and the De- 
cumates Agri, and falling into the Rhine opposite Moguntiacum {Mayence). 

Mceris Lactjs. Now Birket-el-Keroun, a great lake on the western sid*» 
of the Nile, in Middle Egypt, used for the reception and subsequent distri- 
bution of a part of the overflow of the Nile. It was believed by the ancients 
to have been dug by Mceris, king of Egypt, but it is really a natural, and 
not an artificial lake. 

Mcesia. A country of Europe, bounded on the south by Mount Heemus. 
which separated it from Thrace, and by the ranges of Orbelus and Scordus, 
which separated it from Macedonia ; on the west by the range of Scordus, 
and the Rivers Drinus and Savus, which separated it from Illyricum and 
Pannonia ; on the north by the Danube, which separated it from Dacia ; and 
on the east by the Pontus Euxinus, thus corresponding to the modern Servia 
and Bulgaria. This country was subdued intthe reign of Augustus, but does 
not appear to have been formally constituted^ a Roman province until the 
commencement of the reign of Tiberius. It was originally only one prov 
ince, but was afterward formed into two provinces (probably after the con- 
quest of Dacia by Trajan), called Mcesia Superior and Mcesia Inferior, the 
former being the western, the latter the eastern half of the country. When 
Aurelian surrendered Dacia to the barbarians, and removed the inhabitants 
of that province to the south of the Danube, the middle part of Mcesia was 
called Dacia Aureliani; and this new province was divided into Dacia Ri- 
pensisy the district along the Danube, and Dacia Interior, the district south 
of the latter, as far as the frontiers of Macedonia. In the reign of Valens, 
some o f the Goths crossed the Danube, and settled in Mossia. These Goths 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 383 

are sometimes called Mceso-Goths, and it was for their use that Ulphila* 
translated the Scriptures into Gothic, about the middle of the fourth century. 

Mona. Now Anglesey j an island off the coast of the Ordovices, in Brit- 
ain, and one of the chief seats of the Druids. It was invaded by Suetoni- 
us Paulinus, A.D. 61, and was conquered by Agricola, A.D. 78. Caesar 
(B. G., v., 13) erroneously describes this island as halfway between Britan- 
nia and Hibernia. Hence it has been supposed by some critics that the 
Mona of Caesar is the Isle of Man; but it is more»probable that he received 
a false report respecting the real position of Mona especially since all other 
ancient writers give the name of Mona to the Isle of Anglesey, and the name 
of the latter island is likely to have been mentioned to Caesar on account of 
its celebrity in connection with the Druids. 

Mosa. Now the Meuse, or Maas, a river in Gallia Belgica, rising in 
Mount Vogesus, m the territory of the Lingones, and falling into the Vaha- 
lis ( Waal), or western branch of the Rhine. 

Mosteni. The inhabitants of Mostene, a city of Lydia, in the Hyrca- 
nian plain, to the southeast of Thyatira. It was one of the cities of Asia, 
Minor, destroyed by the great earthquake in the reign of Tiberius, A.D. 17 

N. 

Nabat^ei. An Arabian people, who dwelt originally in the northwest 
era part of the Arabian peninsula. In the changes, however, effected among 
the communities of these regions by the Babylonian conquest of Judea, the 
Nabataeans extended westward into the Sinaitic peninsula and the territory 
of the Edomites, while the latter took possession of the southern part of Ju- 
dea, which received from them the name of Idumea. Hence the Nabatae- 
ans of Greek and Roman history occupied nearly the whole of Arabia Pe- 
traea, along the northeastern coast of the Red Sea, on both sides of the 
iElanitic Gulf, and in the Idumean Mountains (Mountains of Scir), where 
they had their celebrated rock-hewn capital, Petra. At first they were a- 
roving, pastoral people ; but as their position gave them the command of 
the trade between Arabia and the "West, they prosecuted that trade with 
great energy, establishing regular caravans. Sustained by this traffic, a 
powerful monarchy arose, which resisted all the attacks of the Greek kings 
of Syria. Under Augustus the Nabataeans are found as nominal subjects 
of the Roman empire. Under Trajan they were conquered by A. Cornelius 
Palma, and Arabia Petraea became a Roman province, A.D. 105-107. 

Naharvali. A German tribe dwelling between the Warta and the Vis 
tula, near Petricau. 

Nar. Now the Nera, a river in Central Italy, rising in Mount Fiscei 
lus, on the frontiers of Umbria and Picenum. It flows in a southwest 
erly direction, forming the boundary between Umbria and the land of th» 
Sabini, and, after receiving the Yelinus (Velino) and Tolenus (Turano), 
and passing by Interamna and Narnia, it falls into the Tiber not far from 
Ocriculum. It was celebrated for its sulphureous waters and white color 

Nakisci. A small but brave people in the south of Germany, of the Sue- 



384 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

vie race, who dwsltto the west of the Marcomarmi and east of the Her« 
munduri, and extended from the Montes Sudeti on the north to the Dan 
ube on the south, thus inhabiting part of the Upper Palatinate md the coun 
try of the Fichtelgebirge. 

Narnia. Now Narni, a town in Umbria, situate on a lofty hill, on 
the south bank of the River Nar. It was originally called Nequinum. It 
was made a Roman colony B.C. 299, when its name was changed to Nar- 
nia, after the river. This town was strongly fortified by nature, being ac- 
cessible only on the eastern and western sides. On the west side it could 
only be approached by a very lofty bridge, which Augustus built over the 
river. 

Nautortus. Now Ober (Upper) Laibach, an ancient and important 
town of the Taurisci, situate on the River Nauportus {Laibach), a tributa* 
cy of the Savus, in Pannonia Superior. The town fell into decay after the 
founding of ^Emona {Laibach), which was only fifteen miles from it. 

Nemetes. A people in Gallia Belgica, on the Rhine, whose chief town 
-vas Noviomagus, subsequently Nemetse, now Speyer, or Spires. 

Nervii. A powerful and warlike people in Gallia Belgica, whose terri- 
tory extended from the River Sabis {Sambre) to the ocean, and part of 
which was covered by the Silva Arduenna. They were divided into sev- 
eral smaller tribes, the Centrones, Grudii, Levaci, Pleumexii, and Geiduni. 
In B.C. 58, they were defeated by Cassar with such slaughter, that out of 
sixty thousand men capable of bearing arms only five hundred were left 

Nicopolis. A city at the southwestern extremity of Epirus, on the point 
of land which forms the northern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Am 
bracia, opposite to Actium. It was built by Augustus in memory of the 
battle of Actium, and was peopled from Ambracia, Anactorium, and other 
neighboring cities, and also with settlers from iEtolia. Augustus also 
built a temple of Apollo on a neighboring hill, and founded games in honor 
of the god, which were held every fifth year. The city was received into 
the Amphictyonic league in place of the Dolopes. It is spoken of as both 
a libera civitas, and as a colony. It had a considerable commerce and ex- 
tensive fisheries. It was made the capital of Epirus by Constantine, and 
its buildings were restored both by Julian and by Justinian. 

Nola. One of the most ancient towns of Campania, twenty-one Roman 
miles to the southeast of Capua. . It was founded by the Ausones, but aft- 
erward fell into the hands of the Etrurians, whence some writers call it 
an Etruscan city. In B.C. 313 it was taken by the Romans. It remained 
faithful to the Romans even after the battle of Cannae, when the other 
Campanian towns revolted to Hannibal ; and it was allowed, in consequence, 
to retain its own constitution as an ally of the Romans. In the Social war 
it fell into the hands of the confederates, and when taken by Sulla it was 
burned to the ground by the Samnite garrison. It was afterward rebuilt, and 
was made a Roman colony by Vespasi m. The Emperor Augustus died at 
Nola. 

Noricum. A Roman province south of the Danube, which probably de- 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 385 

lived its name from the town of Noreia. It was bounded on the north by 
the Danube, on the west by Roetia and Vindelicia, on the east by Panno 
nia, and on the south by Pannonia and Italy. It corresponded to the greater 
Dart of Styria and Carinthia, and a part of Austria, Bavaria, and Salzburg 
Noricurn was a mountainous country, for it was not only surrounded oy 
mountains on the south and east, but one of the main branches of the Alps, 
the Alpes Norica (in the neighborhood of Salzburg), ran right througn the 
province. In these mountains a large quantity of excellent iron was found, 
and the Noric swords were celebrated in antiquity. The inhabitants of the 
country were Celts, divided into several tribes, of which the Taurisci, also 
called Norici, after their capital, Noreia, were the most important. They 
were conquered by the Romans towards the end of the reign of Augustus, 
after the subjugation of Raetia by Tiberius and Drusus, and their country 
was formed into a Roman province. 

Nuithones. A people of Germany, dwelling on the right bank of th« 
Albis (Elbe), to the southwest of the Saxones, and north of the Langobardi, 
in the southeastern part of the modern Mecklenburg. 

Numid^:. The inhabitants of Numidia, a district of Africa, answering to 
the modern Algiers. The Roman province of Numidia, however, corre- 
sponded merely to the eastern part of Algiers. 

O. 

Orcades Insula. Now the Orkney and Shetland Isles, a group ol 
several small islands off the northern coast of Britain, with which the Ro 
mans first became acquainted when Agricola sailed round the north Gf 
Britain. 

Orpovices. A people in the western part of Britain, opposite the island 
of Mona (Anglesey), and occupying the northern part of modern Wales, or 
the counties of. Flint, Denbigh, Caernirvon, Merioneth, and Montgomery. 

Osi. A people of Germany, dwellir g probably in the mountains between 
the sources of the Oder and the Gran. According to Tacitus, they were 
tributary to the Sarmatians, and also to the Quadi. The same writer makes 
them to have spoken the Pannonian language, and hence not to have been 
really a German race. Consult, however, notes on Germ., c. xxviii. 

Ostia. A town at the mouth of the Tiber, and the harbor of Rome, from 
vvhich it was distant sixteen miles by land. It was situate on the left bank 
af the left arm of the river. Ostia was founded by Ancus Marcius, the 
fourth king of Rome, was a Roman colony, and eventually became an im- 
portant and flourishing town. In the civil wars it was destroyed by Marius, 
but it was soon rebuilt with greater splend)r than before. The Emperor 
Claudius constructed a new and better harbor on the right arm of the Tiber, 
which was enlarged and improved by Trajan. This new harbor was simply 
called Portus Romanics, or Portus Augusti, and around it there sprang a 
flourishing town, also called Portus. The old town of Ostia, the harbor of 
which had already been partly filled up with sand, now sank into insig- 
aificance, and only continued to exist through its salt-works (salince), whicn 

E 



386 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

had been established by Ancus Marcius. The ruins of Ostia are now be 
tween two and three miles from the coast, as the sea has gradually receded 
m consequence of the accumulation of sand deposited by the Tiber. 

Oxiones. A German tribe in the extreme North, named by Tacitus in 
connection with the Hellusii, and of whom nothing certain is known. They 
probably inhabited a part of Lapland. 

P. 

Pamphylia. A belt of mountain coast-land along the southern shore of 
Asia Minor, between Lycia on the west, and Cilicia on the east, and on 
the north bordering upon Pisidia. It was intersected by rivers flowing down 
from the range of Taurus on the north, having a short course indeed, but 
several of them with a considerable body of water. The inhabitants were 
a mixture of races, whence their name Tl&iifyv'koi, "of all races." Besides 
the aboriginal inhabitants of the Semitic (Syro-Arabian) family, and Cili- 
cians, there were very early Greek settlers and later Greek colonies in the 
land. Pamphylia was successively a part of the Persian, Macedonian, Grse- 
co-Syrian, and Pergamenian kingdoms, and passed by the will of Attalus 
III. to the Romans, B.C. 130, under whom it was made a province ; but this 
province of Pamphylia included also Pisidia and Isauria, and afterward a 
part of Lycia. Under Constantine, however, Pisidia was again separated 
from Pamphylia. 

Pandateria, or PandatIria. A small island m the Tyrrhenian Sea. 
off the coast of Campania, to which Julia, the daughter of Augustus, was 
banished. It is now Vendutene. 

Pannonia. One of the most important of the Roman provinces between 
the Danube and the Alps, separated on the west from Noricum by Mon3 
Cetius, and from Upper Italy by the Alpes Julia? ; on the south from Illyria 
by the Savus ; on the east from Dacia by the Danube ; and on the north 
from Germany by the same river. It thus corresponded to the eastern part 
of Austria t Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the whole of Hungary between the 
Danube and the Save, Slavonian and a part of Croatia and Bosnia. The 
Pannonians, sometimes called Pseonians by the Greek writers, were prob- 
ably of Illyrian origin, and were divided into numerous tribes. They were 
a brave and warlike people, but are described by the Roman writers as cruel, 
/aithless, and treacherous. They maintained their independence of Rom* 
until Augustus, after his conquest of the Illyrians (B.C. 35), turned his arms 
against them, and they were shortly afterward subdued by his general, Vib- 
ius. In A.D. 7 the Pannonians joined the Dalmatians and the other Illyr- 
ian tribes in their revolt from Rome, and were with difficulty conquered by 
Tiberius, after a desperate straggle, which lasted three years (A.D. 7-9). 
It was after the termination of this war that Pannonia appears to have been 
reduced to the form of a Roman province, and was garrisoned by several 
Roman legions. The dangerous mutiny of these troops after the death of 
Augustus is described in the first book of the Annals. From this time to 
he end of the empire, Pannonia always contained a large number of Roman 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 387 

troops, on account of its bordering on the Quadi and other powerful barbar- 
ous nations. In consequence of the large number of troops always sta 
tioned in this country, several towns were founded, and numerous fortresses 
were erected along the Danube. Pannonia originally formed only one prov- 
ince, but was soon divided into two provinces, called Pannonia Superior 
and Pannonia Inferior. 

Parthi. The Parthians, a warlike people of the East, especially cei 
ebrated as horse-archers. Their tactics, of which the Romans had fatal 
experience in their first wars with them, became so celebrated as to pass 
into a proverb. Their mail-clad horsemen spread like a cloud round the 
hostile army, and poured in a shower of darts ; and then evaded any closer 
conflict by a rapid flight, during which they still shot their arrows back- 
ward upon the enemy. Parthia, or Parthiene, as a country of Asia, lay to 
the southeast of the Caspian, and east of Media. The Parthian empire, 
however, extended over Asia from the Euphrates to the Indus, and from 
the Indian Ocean to the range of Paropamisus, or even to the River Oxus ; 
but on this northern frontier they had to maintain a continual conflict with 
the nomad tribes of Central Asia. 

Perinthus. An important city of Thrace, on the Propontis, founded by 
the Samians, about B.C. 559. It was situate twenty-two miles to the west 
of Selymbria, on a small peninsula, and was built on the slope of a hill, 
with rows of houses rising above each other like seats in an amphitheatre. 
It is celebrated for the obstinate resistance which it offered to Philip of 
Macedon, at which time it was a more powerful place than Byzantium. 
Under the Romans it still continued to be a flourishing city, being the point 
at which most of the roads met leading to Byzantium. 

Peucini. Vid. Bastarn^e. 

Philadelphia. A city of Lydia, at the foot of Mount Tmolus, on the 
little River Cogamus, southeast of Sardis. It was built by Attalus Phila- 
delphus, king of Pergamus. It suffered greatly from earthquakes, so that 
in Strabo's time (under Augustus) it had greatly declined. In the reign of 
Tiberius (A.D. 17), it was almost destroyed by one of these visitations. It 
was an early seat of Christianity, and its Church is one of the seven to 
which the Apocalypse is addressed. 

Picenum. A country of Central Italy, forming a narrow strip of land 
along the western coast of the Adriatic ; bounded on the north by Umbria, 
on the west by Umbria and the territory of the Sabines, and on the south 
by the territory of the Marsi and Yestini. The Picentes were Sabine im- 
migrants, but the population of the country appears to have been of a mixed 
character. A portion of the people were transplanted to the coast of the 
Sinus Paestanus, where they founded the town Picentia. 

Planasia. Now Planosa, an island between Corsica and the coast of 
Etruria, to which Augustus banished his grandson Agrippa Postumu*?, in 
CD. 7. 
Pompeiopolis. Consult notes on Ann. } ii., £ 8. 
Pontes Lokgi. Consult notes on Ann., i., 63. 



388 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Prcpontis. Now the Sea of Marmara, the small sea which united tha 
Euxine and ./Egean, and which divided Europe in this quarter from Asia. 
Its ancient name was derived from its position with reference to the Euxine, 
it being more fully described as rj irpb rov Uovrov rov Evfjeivov -Qakaaaa^ 
and also "vestibuaim Ponti" It is of an irregular oval shape, running out 
on the east into two deep gulfs, the Sinus Astacenus (Gulf of Izmid) and 
the Sinus Cianus (Gulf of Mondanich), and containing several islands. 
Several important Greek cities stood on its shores, the chief of which were 
Byzantium and Perinthus on the north, and Cyzicus on the south. 

Pyramus. Now the Jihon, one of the largest rivers of Asia Minor, ris- 
ing in the chain of Antitaurus, and which, after running southeast, v first 
underground, and then as a navigable river, breaks through the Taurus chain 
by a deep and narrow ravine, and then flows southwest through Cilicia, in 
a deep and rapid stream. It falls into the sea near Mallus. Its earlier 
name is said to have been Leucosyrus, from the Leucosyri, who dwelt o 
its banks. 

Q. 

Quadi. A powerful German people of the Suevic race, who dwelt In 
the southeast of Germany, between Mons Gabreta, the Silva Hercynia, the 
Sarmatici Montes, and the Danube. They were bounded on the west by the 
Marcomanni, with whom they were always closely united ; on the north by 
the Gothini and Osi ; on the east by the Iazyges Metanastae ; and on the 
south by the Pannonians, from whom they were divided by the Danube. 
They probably settled in this district at the same time that the Marcomanni 
made themselves masters of Bohemia ; but we have no account of their ear- 
lier settlements. When Maroboduus, and, shortly after, his successor, Cat- 
ualda, had been expelled from their dominions, and had taken refuge with 
the Romans, in the reign of Tiberius, the Romans assigned to the barbari- 
ans, who had accompanied these monarchs, and who consisted chiefly of 
Marcomanni and Quadi, the country between the Marus and Cusus, and 
^ave to them as King Yannius, who belonged to the Quadi. Vannius was 
expelled by his nephews Vangio and Sido ; but this new kingdom of the 
Quadi continued for a long time afterward under Roman . protection. In 
the reign of M. Aurelius, however, the Quadi joined the Marcomanni and 
other German tribes in the long and bloody war against the empire, which 
lasted during the greater part of that emperor's reign. The independence 
of the Marcomanni and Quadi was secured by a peace which Commodus 
made with them in A.D. 180. Their name is especially memorable in thtf 
history of this war, by the victory which M. Aurelius gained over them in 
A.D. 174, when his army was in great danger of being destroyed by these 
barbarians, and was said to have been saved by a sifcden storm, which was 
attributed to the prayers of his Christian soldiers. The Quadi disappear 
from history towards the end of the fourth century. They probably migrated 
with the Suevi farther west. 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 381> 



R. 

Rjetix. A Roman province, south of the Danube, which appears prop 
«rly to have comprehended the whole country between this river and the 
north of Italy, ana consequently to have included Vindelicia. Dio Cas 
sius (liv., 22), in his account of the conquest of the Raeti and Vindelici by 
Drusus and Tiberius, only mentions the Raeti. Strabo often speaks of them 
(iv., p. 193 ; 206 ; vii., p. 449, &c.) as if they were only one people ; and 
Tacitus, in several passages, appears to include Vindelicia in the province 
of Raetia. In the time of Augustus, however, these two countries formed 
two separate provinces, of which Raetia was bounded on the west by the 
Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the south by Gallia Cisalpina, and on 
the north by Vindelicia, from which it was separated by the Lacus Brigan- 
tinus, or Lake of Constance, and the River CEnus, or Inn. It included the 
greater part of the Tyrol, and the eastern cantons of Switzerland. The only 
town of importance in Raetia was Tridentum ( Trent), on the Athesis (Adi- 
ge), the capital of the Tridentini. 

~Rmticje, Alpes. A part of the chain of the Alps, running through the 
greater part of the province of Raetia. These mountains extended from 
the St. Gothard to the Orteler, by the pass by the Stelvio ; and in them rose 
the CEnus {Inn), and most of the chief rivers in the north of Italy, such as 
the Athesis, Addua, &c. 

Raudii Campi. A plain in the north of Italy, near Vercellae, where Ma 
rius and Catulus defeated the Cimbri, B.C. 101. 

Ravenna. An important town in Gallia Cisalpina, on the River Bedesis, 
and about a mile from the sea, though it is now about five miles in the in 
terior, in consequence of the sea having receded all along this coast. Ra 
venna was situate in the midst of marshes, and was only accessible in one 
direction by land, probably by the road leading from Ariminum. The town 
laid claim to a high antiquity. It was said to have been founded by Thes- 
salians (Pelasgians), and afterward to have passed into the hands of the 
Umbrians, but it long remained an insignificant place, and its greatness 
does not begin till the time of the empire, when Augustus made it one ol 
the two chief stations of the Roman fleet, the other being Misenum, on the 
lower sea. This emperor not only enlarged the town, but caused a large 
harbor to be constructed on the coast, capable of containing two hundred 
and forty triremes, and he connected this harbor with the Po by means of 
a canal called Pddusa, or Augusti Fossa. This harbor was called Classes, 
and between it and Ravenna a new town sprang up, to which the name of 
CcBsarea was given. All three were subsequently formed into one town, 
and were surrounded by strong fortifications. Ravenna thus suddenly be 
came one of the most important places in the north of Italy. The town it* 
self, however, was mean in appearance. In consequence of the marshy 
nature of th3 soil, most of the houses were built of wood, and, since an arm 
of the canal was carried through some of the principal streets, the commu 
xiioation was carried on to a great extent by gondolas, as in modem Venice. 



390 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

The town, also, was very deficient in a supply of good drinking water ; but 
it was not considered unhealthy, since the canals drained the marshes to a 
great extent, and the ebb and flow of the tide prevented the waters from 
stagnating. In the neighborhood good wine was grown, notwithstanding 
the marshy nature of the soil. When the Roman empire was threatened 
by the barbarians, the emperors of the West took up their residence at 
Ravenna, which, on account of its situation and its fortifications, was re- 
garded as impregnable. After the downfall of the Western empire, Theo- 
doric also made it the capital of his kingdom ; and after the overthrow of 
the Gothic dominion by Narses, it became the residence of the exarchs, or 
the governors of the Byzantine empire in Italy, until the Lombards took 
the town, A.D. 752. The modern Ravenna stands on the site of the ancient 
town. 

Regium Lepidi, or simply Regium, also Forum Lepidi. Now Reggio, 
a town of the Boh, in Gallia Cisalpina, between Mutina and Parma, which 
was probably made a colony by the Consul M. ^Emilius Lepidus, when he 
constructed the Emilia Via through Cisalpine Gaul. 

Reudigni. A people in the north of Germany, on the right bank of the 
Albis {Elbe), to the north of the Langobardi. 

Rhegium. A celebrated Greek town on the coast of Bruttium, in the 
south of Italy, situate on the Fretum Siculum, or the straits which separate 
Italy and Sicily. The ancients derived its name from the Greek verb 
pijyvv/iL " (to break)," because it was supposed that Sicily was at this place 
torn asunder from Italy. Rhegium was founded about the beginning of the 
first Messenian war, B.C. 743, by ^Eolian Chalcidians from EubGea, and by 
Doric Messenians who had quitted their native country on the commence- 
ment of hostilities between Sparta and Messenia. At the end of the sec- 
ond Messenian war, B.C. 668, a large body of Messenians, under the con- 
duct of the sons of Aristomenes, settled at Rhegium, which now became a 
nourishing and important city, and extended its authority over several of 
the neighboring towns. At a subsequent period it was taken, after a long 
war, by Dionysius of Syracuse, and treated with the greatest severity. It 
never recovered after this its former greatness, though it still continued to 
be a place of considerable importance. It suffered greatly from an earth- 
quake, shortly before the breaking out of the Social war, B.C. 90 ; but its 
population was afterward augmented by Augustus, who settled here a num- 
ber of veterans from his fleet. The Greek language continued to be spoken 
at Rhegium until a very late time, and the town was subject to the Byzan 
tme court long after the downfall of the Western empire. 

Rhenus. Now the Rhine (in German the Rhein), one of the great rivers 
of Europe, forming in ancient times the boundary between Gaul and Ger- 
many, rose in Mons Adula (St. Gothard), not far from the sources of the 
Rhone. It flows first in a westerly direction, passing through the Lacus 
Brigantinus (Lake of Constance), till it reaches Basilia (Basle), where it 
takes a northerly direction, and eventually flows into the ocean by several 
mouths. The ancients spoke of two main arms, into which the Rhine wos 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 391 

divided "in entering the territory of the Batavi, of which the one on the east 
continued to bear the name of Rhenus ; while that on the west, into which 
the Mosa (Meuse) flowed, was called Vahalis ( Waal). After Drusus, in 
B.C. 12, had connected the Flevo Lacus (Zuyder Zee) with the Rhine, by 
means of a canal, in making which he probably made use of the bed of 
the Yssel, we find mention of three mouths of the Rhine. Of these the 
names, as given by Pliny, are, on the west, the Helium (the Vahalis of other 
writers) ; in the centre, the Rhenus ; and on the east, the Flevum ; but at a 
later time we again find mention of only two mouths. The Rhine is de- 
scribed by the ancients as a broad, rapid, and deep river. It received many 
tributaries, of which the most important were the Mosella (Moselle) and 
Mosa (Meuse), on the left ; and the Nicer (Neckar), Masnus (Main), and 
Luppia (Lippe), on the right. Its length is stated differently by the ancient 
writers. Its whole course amounts to about nine hundred and fifty miles. 
The inundations of the river near its mouth are mentioned by the ancients. 
Caesar was the first Roman general who crossed the Rhine. He threw a 
bridge over the river, probably in the neighborhood of Cologne. 

Rhodus. Now Rhodes, the easternmost island of the ^Egean, or, more 
specifically, of the Carpathian Sea. It lay off the southern coast of Caria, 
due south of the promontory of Cynossema (Cape Aloupo), at the distance 
of about twelve geographical miles. Its length, from northeast to southwest, 
is about forty -five miles ; its greatest breadth about twenty to twenty-five. 
It appears to have been first colonized by the Phoenicians ; and subsequent 
Iy by the Dorians. Homer mentions the three Dorian settlements in the 
island, namely, Lindus, Ialysus, and Camirus. Rhodes soon became a 
great maritime state, or rather confederacy, the island being parcelled out 
between the three cities just mentioned. The Rhodians made distant voy- 
ages, and founded numerous colonies. In B.C. 408, the new capital, called 
Rhodus, was built, and peopled from the three ancient cities of Lindus, Ia- 
lysus, and Camirus. The Rhodians came into connection with the Romans, 
whose alliance they joined, in the war against Philip III. of Macedon. They 
also rendered important aid to the Romans in the Mithradatic war. They 
were finally deprived of their independence, however, by the Emperor Claud- 
ius ; and their prosperity received its final blow from an earthquake, which 
laid the city of Rhodus in ruins, in the reign of Antoninus Pius, A.D. 155. 

S. 
Sabini. One of the most ancient and powerful of the communities of 
Central Italy. The different tribes of the Sabine race were widely spread 
over the whole of Central Italy, and were connected with the Opici, Urn- 
brians, and those other tribes whose languages were akin to the Greek. 
The earliest traces of the Sabines were found in the neighborhood of Ami- 
ternum, at the foot of the main chain of the Apennines, whence they spread 
as far south as the confines of Lucania and Apvlia. The Sabines may be 
divided into three great classes, called by the names of Sabini, Sabelli, and 
Samnites respectively. The Sabini proper inhabited the country between 



392 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX, 

the Nar, tae Anio, and the Tiber, between Latium, Etruria, Umbria, ami 
Piccnum. This district was mountainous, and better adapted for pastur- 
age than corn. The Sabelli were the smaller tribes, who issued from the 
Sabines, such as the Vestini, Marsi, Marrucini, Peligni, Frentani, and Hirp- 
ini. The Samnites, who were by far the most powerful of all the Sabine 
communities, were the inhabitants of Samnium. There were certain, na- 
tional characteristics which distinguished the whole Sabine race. They 
were a people of simple and virtuous habits, faithful to their word, and im- 
bued with deep religious feeling. The form of government among them 
was republican ; but in war they chose a sovereign ruler (Embratur), whom 
the Romans sometimes call dictator, and sometimes king. With the ex- 
ception of the Sabines in Lucania and Campania, they never attained any 
high degree of civilization or mental culture ; but they were always distin 
guished by their love of freedom, which they maintained with the greatest 
bravery. Of this the Samnites were the most striking example. After the 
decline of the Etrurian power, the Sabines were for a long time the great 
est people in Italy ^and, if they had remained united, they might have con 
quered the whole peninsula. The Sabines formed one of the elements ot 
which the Roman people were composed. In the time of Romulus, a por- 
tion of the Sabines, after the abduction of their wives and daughters, be- 
came incorporated with the Romans, and the two communities were united 
under the general name of Quirites. The remainder of the Sabini proper, 
who were less warlike than the Samnites and Sabellians, were finally sub- 
dued by M\ Curius Dentatus, B.C. 290. 

Samothrace. Consult notes on Ann., ii., 54. 

Sardiani. The inhabitants of Sardis, the capital of the old Lydian 
monarchy. This city stood on the southern edge of the rich valley of the 
Hermus, at the northern foot of Mount Tmolus, on the little River Pacto- 
lus, thirty stadia south of the junction of that river with the Hermus. On 
a lofty, precipitous rock, forming an outpost of the range of Tmolus, was the 
almost impregnable citadel, surrounded by a triple wall, and containing the 
palace and treasury of the Lydian kings. On the downfall of the Lydian 
monarchy, and the establishment of the Persian rule over Asia Minor, Sar- 
dis became the residence of the satrap of Lydia. The rise of Pergamus 
subsequently diminished its importance in a great degree, but under the 
Romans it was still a considerable city, and the seat of a conventus juridi- 
cus. In the reign of Tiberius (A.D. 17), Sardis was almost destroyed by 
an earthquake, but it was restored by the emperor's aid. It was one of the 
earliest seats of the Christian religion, and one of the seven Churches in 
the province of Asia to which St. John addressed the Apocalypse ; but the 
apostle's language (Rev., iii., 1, seqq.) implies that the Church at Sardis 
had already sunk into almost hopeless decay. 

Sardinia. A large island in the Mediterranean, lying in almost a cen 
tral position between Spain, Gaul, Italy, and Africa. The Greeks, besides 
the ordinary name 2apJw or Hapdtov, called it also 'Ixvovoa (Ichnusa). 
from its resemblance to the print of a foot (Ixvof).' A chain of mountain! 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 393 

{Monies Insani) runs along the whole of the eastern side of trte island, 
from north to south, occupying about one third of its surface ; but in the west- 
ern and southern parts there are numerous plains, intersected by ranges of 
smaller hills. This latter portion of the island, however, was in antiquit 
as it is in the present day, exceedingly unhealthy. Sardinia was very fei 
tile, but was not extensively cultivated, in consequence of the uncivilized 
character of its inhabitants. Still the plains in the western and southern 
parts produced large quantities of corn, a great portion of which was ex- 
ported to Rome every year. The wool, also, of the island formed an import- 
ant article of export. Sardinia likewise contained a large quantity of the 
precious metals. The Romans obtained possession of this island in B.C. 
238, after it had long been in the hands of the Carthaginians. The inhab- 
itants, however, of the mountains on the eastern side of the island were 
never completely subdued, and gave trouble to the Romans even in the time 
of Tiberius. 

Seleucia Pieria. A city and fortress of Syria, founded by Seleucus, 
one month before the foundation of Antioch; namely, in April, B.C. 300. 
It stood on the site of an ancient fortress, on the rocks overhanging the sea, 
at the foot of Mount Pieria, about four miles north of the Orontes, and 
twelve miles west of Antioch. Its natural strength was improved by every 
known art of fortification, to which were added all the works of architecture 
and engineering required to make it a splendid city and a great sea-port, 
while it obtained abundant supplies from the fertile plain between the city 
and Antioch. The remains of Seleucus were interred at Seleucia, in ». 
mausoleum surrounded by a grove. This city, however, had fallen entirely 
to decay by the sixth century of our era. 

Semnones. A German people, described by Tacitus as the most power 
ful tribe of the Suevic race, and who dwelt between the Viadus ( Oder) and 
Albis (Elbe), from the Riesengebirge, in the south, as far as the country 
around Frankfurt on the Oder, and Potsdam in. the north. The Romans first 
-came in contact with them in the expeditions of Tiberius and the wars 
against Arminius, to whom, together with the Langobardi, they went over 
from Maroboduus ; and then again in the time of Domitian, when a king of 
theirs, Masyus, whom they had driven out, came to Rome. 

Sequani. A powerful Celtic people, in Gallia Belgica, separated from 
the Helvetii by Mons Jura, from the iEdui by the Arar (Saone), and from 
the province Narbonensis by the Rhone. They inhabited the country called 
Franche Compte and Burgundy. They derived their name from the River 
Sequana (Seine), which had its source on the northwestern frontier of their 
territory. Their chief town was Vesontio (Besancon). 

SerIphus. Consult notes on Ann., ii., 85. 

Silures. A powerful people in Britain, inhabiting South Wales. They 
_ong offered a formidable resistance to the Romans, and were the only peo- 
ple in the island who, at a later period, maintained their independence 
against the Saxons. 

Sinus Codanus. No 1- , the Baltic, as is commonly supposed, but the 

R2 



394 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

southwestern part of the Mare Suevicum, which list answers to the Sal 
tic. 

Suardones. A German tribe, w'. o seem to have lived near Liibeck, by 
the River Schwartau. 

Suevi. One of the greatest and most powerful communities of Germa- 
ny, or, more properly speaking, the collective name of a great number of 
German tribes, who were grouped together on account of their migratory 
mode of life, and spoken of in opposition to the more settled tribes. The 
Suevi are described, by all the ancient writers, as occupying the greater 
half of all Germany ; but the accounts vary with respect to the part of the 
country which they inhabited. Caesar represents them as dwelling to the east 
of the Ubii and Sygambri, and west of the Cherusci, and their country as di- 
vided into one hundred cantons. Strabo makes them extend in an easterly 
direction beyond the Albis {Elbe), and in a southerly one as far as the sources 
of the Danube. Tacitus gives the name of Suevia to the whole of the east- 
ern part of Germany, from the Danube to the Baltic. At a later period, the 
collective name of the Suevi gradually disappeared, and the different tribes 
of the Suevic race were each called by their distinctive names. In the 
second half of the third century, however, we again find a people called 
Suevi, dwelling between the mouth of the Main and the Black Forest, 
whose name is still preserved in the modern Suabia; but this people were 
only a body of bold adventurers from various German tribes, who assumed 
the celebrated name of Suevi in consequence of their not possessing any 
distinguishing appellation of their own. 

Suiones. A German tribe, inhabiting the south of Sweden, which was 
supposed by the ancients to be an island. 

Surrentum. A town of Campania, opposite Capreae, and situate on 
the Promontorium Minervae, which separated the Sinus Paestanus from the 
Sinus Puteolanus. It was subsequently a Roman colony, and on the hills 
in its neighborhood was grown one of* the best wines in Italy, which was 
strongly recommended to convalescents on account of its thinness and 
wholesomeness. 

Syene. A city of Upper Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, just 
below the first cataract. It has been in all ages the southern frontier city 
of Egypt towards Ethiopia, and under the Romans it was kept by a garrison 
of three cohorts. From its neighborhood was obtained the fine granite called 
Syennites lapis. It was also an important point in the astronomy and ge- 
ography of the ancients, as it lay just under the tropic of Cancer, and was 
therefore chosen as the place through which they drew their chief parallel 
of latitude. Of course, the sun was vertical to Syene at the time of the 
summer solstice, and a well was shown in which the reflection of the sun 
was then seen at noon ; or, as the rhetorician Aristides expresses it, the 
disk of the sun covered the well, as a vessel is covered by its lid. 

Sygambri, Sigambri, Sugambri, or Sicambri. One of the most pow 
erful communities of Germany at an early time, belonging to the Istaevones, 
ami dwelling originally north of the Ubii, on the Rhine, whence they spread 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 395 

themselves tovt ards the north, as far as the Luppia (Lippe). The Sygambri 
are mentioned by Caesar, who invaded their territory. They were conquered 
by Tiberius in the reign of Augustus, and a large number of them were 
transplanted to Gaul, where they received settlements between the Meuse 
and Rhine as Roman subjects. The portion of the Sygambri who remained 
in Germany withdrew farther south, probably to the mountainous country in 
the neighborhood of Mount Taunus. Shortly afterward they disappear from 
history, and are not mentioned again till the time of Ptolemy, who places 
them much farther north, close to the Bructeri and the Langobardi, some- 
where between the Vecht and the Yssel. At a still later period, we find 
them forming an important part of the confederacy known under the name 
of Franci. 

T. 

Tarentum. An important Greek city in Italy, situate on the western 
coast of the peninsula of Calabria, and on a bay of the sea, about one hund- 
red stadia in circuit, forming an excellent harbor, and being a portion of the 
great Gulf of Tarentum. The city stood in the midst of a beautiful and fer- 
tile country. It was originally built by the Iapygians ; but its greatness 
dates from B.C. 708, when the original inhabitants were expelled, and the 
town was taken possession of by a strong body of Lacedaemonian Partheniae 
under the guidance of Phalanthus. Tarentum soon became the most pow- 
erful and flourishing city in the whole of Magna Graecia, and exercised a 
kind of supremacy over the other Greek cities in Italy. It carried on an 
extensive commerce, possessed a considerable fleet of ships of war, and was 
able to bring into the field, with the assistance of its allies, an army of thirty 
thousand foot and three thousand horse. The city itself, in its most flour 
ishing period, contained twenty-two thousand men capable of bearing arms. 
The Tarentines eventually came into collision with the Romans, and were 
saved for a time by Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who came to their help in 
B.C. 281 ; but two years after the final defeat of this monarch, and his with- 
drawal from Italy, their city was taken by the Romans, B.C. 272. In the 
second Punic war, Tarentum revolted from Rome to Hannibal (B.C. 212) ; 
but it was retaken by the Romans in B.C. 207, and was treated by them 
with great seventy. From this time it declined in prosperity and wealth. 
It was subsequently made a Roman colony, and it still continued to be a 
place of considerable importance in the time of Augustus. The neighbor- 
hood of Tarentum produced the best wool in all Italy, and was also cele- 
brated for its excellent wine, figs, pears, and other fruits. Its purple dye 
was also much valued in antiquity. 

Tarracina, more anciently called Anxur. An ancient town of Latiura, 
situated fifty-eight miles southeast of Rome, on the Via Appia and upon the 
coast, with a strongly fortified citadel upon a high hill, on which stood the 
temple of Jupiter Anxurus. It was probably a Pelasgian town originally ; 
but it afterward belonged to the Volsci, by whom it was called Anxur. It 
was conquered by the Remans, who gave it the name of Tarracina, and it 



3913 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

was made a Roman colony B.C. 329. Three miles west of the town s,oo4 
the grove of Feronia, with a temple of this goddess. The place is now 
called Terracina. The ancient walls of the citadel are still visible on the 
slope of Montecchio. 

Tarraconensis Colonia. Vid. Hispania, and consult notes on Ann. y 
i., 78. 

Taunus. A range of mountains in Germany, at no great distance from 
the confluence of the Msenus (Main) and the Rhine. Mount Taunus is 
now called not only by its ancient name, but also die Hohe and der Heyrich. 

Temnus. A city of ^olis, in the northwestern part of Lydia (some 
say in Mysia), on the western bank of the Hermus, thirty miles south of 
Cyme. It was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in the reign of Tiberius, 
and in that of Titus (Pliny's time) it no longer existed. 

Tencteri, A people of Germany, dwelling on the Rhine, between the 
Ruhr and the Sieg, to the south of the Usipetes, in conjunction with whom 
their name usually occurs. They crossed the Rhine, together with the 
Usipetes, with the intention of settling in Gaui, but they were defeated by 
Caesar with great slaughter, and those who escaped took refuge in the ter- 
ritories of their southern neighbors the Sygambri. The Tencteri afterward 
belonged to the league of the Cherusci, and at a still later period they are 
mentioned as a portion of the confederacy of the Franks. 

Teutoburgiensis Saltus. A range of hills in Germany covered with 
wood, extending north of the Luppia (Lippe), from Osnabrilck to Paderbom, 
and known at the present day by the name of the Teutoburger Wald, or Lip- 
pische Wald. It is celebrated on account of the defeat and destruction of 
Varus and three Roman legions by the Germans under Arminius, in A.D. 9. 

Teutones, or Teutoni. The name of the Teutones was made known 
to the ancients by Pytheas of Massilia (Marseilles), who, in the age oi 
Alexander the Great, about 320 B.C., discovered a nation of that name in 
the Chersonesus Cimbrica, and on the adjacent islands, or in the present 
countries of Holstein, Schleswig, Denmark, and perhaps also in the south- 
ern extremity of Sweden. It seems that they had long been settled there, 
for they lived in houses, and were acquainted with agriculture and com- 
merce. Other traces of the name appear later. Among the Celtic tribes 
which invaded Greece and besieged Delphi, under the second Brennus 
(B.C. 278), there was a people called Teutobodiaci, who afterward passec 
the Hellespont, and settled with the Celts in Galatia in Asia Minor. About 
a hundred and sixty years later, the Romans were attacked by the Cimbri 
and Teutones, who came from the same country, where they had been seen 
by Pytheas. When the Romans first heard the name of the Teutones, 
they thought that they were a single tribe. They did not know that it was 
also the general and ethnographic name of all thoss nations to which they 
afterward gave the designation of Germans. 

Origin of the name Teutones. 
The root of the word Teuton is thu or do, which originally repr*«#»ud 



GEOGRAPHICAL, INDEX. 39*7 

the idea of ' activity, ' of "living, procreating, nourishing," and also of 
" taming, educating, and ruling." From this root are formed the following 
words, some of which are still used in the popular dialects : Teut, " God. 
creator, ruler, father, nourisher" (Thor, Tuisco); thut or thiud, "earth;" 
tott, dote, dote, "godfather;" toda, "nurse;" thiod, "father of the people,'' 
"lord, ruler, king," in Gothic thiudans, in old Bavarian theodo ; diet, "peo- 
ple," in old Swedish thiaut and thyd ; thiudinassus, in Gothic, " kingdom." 
(Fulda, Wurzel-Worterbuch). The names of king and of people being both 
derived from one root, which expresses the notion of ruling, is a fact which 
Droves that they belong to the language of a nation in which there was nei- 
ther absolute monarchical power, nor absolute submission to their chiefs. 
This corresponds exactly to the political state of the ancient Teutonic na- 
tions, among whom the sovereignty was in the people, and the executive 
power of the chiefs or kings, although it was obeyed, was always regarded 
as derived from the people. The idea of ruling, expressed by the root 
Teut, explains why this word occurs so frequently in the names of the an- 
cient Teutonic kings, dukes, or chiefs, such as Teutoboch, Theudorix, 
Diorix, Theodorix, Theodoric, Theodomir, Theodimir, Teutagon, &c. It 
is likewise contained in the general name of all the Teutonic nations, and 
in those of various tribes, as the Teutones, the Teutonoarii, Thaifali, and 
the Dithmarses, or Dietmarses. It is visible in " Teutoburger Wald," the 
name of that range of wooded mountains which stretches from Detmold 
westward beyond Osnabriick, in which is situated the Grotenburg, formerly 
" Teut" or " Teutoberg," with the farm of Teutehof, where Varus was 
overthrown by Arminius; in "Detmold," "Doesburg," "Duisburg," "Deuz," 
and in a great many other localities in Germany. Teuton is identical with 
Deutsche or Teutsche (in low German, Diltsch ; in Dutch, Duitsch ; in Danish, 
Tysk; in English, Dutch), which from the remotest time has been, and is 
still, the general name of that part of the Teutonic nations which we now 
call Germans, who considered the god or hero Tuisco as their common an 
cestor. There are no direct proofs of the word Teuton having had this ex- 
tensive meaning in the earliest German history, but this is, perhaps, the 
result of the political state of the Teutonic nations, which were originally 
divided into numerous tribes, each of which became separately known to 
the Romans. In the twelfth, eleventh, and even as early as the tenth cen- 
tury, when the difference between Franks and Saxons was well marked in 
the German empire, these nations, each of which had its own language and 
laws, never objected to being called by the general name of Deutsche, or 
Teutones. At present there is no German tribe which has the particular 
name of Teutones ; but, although the Germans are composed of two very 
distinct nations, the High Germans and the Low Germans, they call them- 
selves Deutsche, and their language Deutsch, though they do not understand 
each other. (Penny Cyclopaedia, vol. xxiv., p. 262.) 

Thkb^e. The capital of Thebais, or Upper Egypt, and for a long time 
of the whole country, and reputed the oldest city in the world. It stood in 
about the centre of the Thebaid, on both banks of the Nile, above Coptos. 



398 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

and in the Nbmcs Coptites. It is said to have been founded by Ethiopl 
ans ; but this is of course only a form of the tradition (now much doubted), 
which represents the civilization of Upper Egypt as having come down the 
Nile. Others ascribed its foundation to Osiris, who named it aftei his 
mother, and others to Busiris ; but this is mere fable. It appears to have 
been at the height of its splendor as the capital of Egypt, and as a chief 
seat of the worship of Ammon, about B.C. 1600. The fame of its grandeur 
had reached the Greeks as early as the time of Homer, who describes it in 
terms of the greatest poetical exaggeration. Its extent was calculated by 
subsequent Greek writers at one hundred and forty stadia (fourteen geo- 
graphical miles) in circuit ; and in Strabo's time, when the long transfer- 
ence of the seat of power to Lower Egypt had caused it to decline greatly, 
it still had a circuit of eighty stadia. That these computations are not ex 
aggerated is proved by the existing ruins, which extend from side to side 
of the valley of the Nile, here about six miles wide ; while the rocks which 
bound the valley are perforated with tombs. These ruins, which are per- 
haps the most magnificent in the world, enclose within their site the four 
modern villages of Carnac, Luxor, Medinet Abou, and Gournou; the two 
former on the east, and the two latter on the west side of the river. They 
consist of temples, colossi, sphinxes, and obelisks ; and on the west side 
of tombs, many of which are cut in the rock, and adorned with paint- 
ings, which are still as fresh as if just finished. These ruins are remarka 
ble alike for their great antiquity and for the purity of their style. It is 
most probable that the great buildings were all erected before the Persian 
invasion, when Thebes was taken by Cambyses, and the wooden habita- 
tions were burned ; after which time it never regained the rank of a capital 
city ; and thus its architectural monuments escaped that Greek influence 
which is so marked in the edifices of Lower Egypt. Among its chief build- 
ings the ancient writers mention the Memnonium, with the two colossi 
in front of it ; the temple of Ammon, in which one of the three chief col- 
leges of priests was established ; and the tombs of the kings. 

Thule. An island in the northern part of the German Ocean, regarded 
by the ancients as the most northerly point in the whole earth. It is first 
mentioned by Pytheas, the celebrated Greek navigator of Massilia, who un 
dertook a voyage to Britain and Thule, of which he gave a description in 
his work on the Ocean. All subsequent writers who spenk of Thule ap- 
pear to have taken their accounts from that of Pytheas. According to 
Pytheas, Thule was a six days' sail from Britain, and the day and night 
there were each six months long. He further stated, that in Thule and 
those distant parts there was neither earth, sea, nor air, but a sort of mixt- 
ure of all these, in which the earth, and the sea, and every thing else were 
suspended, and which could not be penetrated either by land or by sea. 
Many moderr writers suppose the Thule of Pytheas to be the same as Ice~ 
land, while others regard it as a part of Norway, and others, again, take it 
to be the same with Mainland, one of the Shetland Isles. The Thule of 
Ptolemy, however, lay much farther tc the south than that of Pytheas, and 



GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 399 

Is probably Mainland, while the Thule mentioned by Tacitus, in his .Ife of 
Agricola, is in all likelihood Iceland. 

Tiberis. The chief river in Central Italy, on which stood the city of 
Rome. It is said to have been originally called Albula, and to have re- 
ceived the name of Tiberis in consequence of Tiberinus, king of Alba, hav- 
ing been drowned in it. It has been supp osed, however, that Albula was 
the Latin, and Tiberis the Etrusean name of the river. The Tiber rises 
from two springs of limpid water in the Apennines, near Tifernum, and 
flows in a southwesterly direction, separating Etruria from Umbria, the 
land of the Sabines, and Latium. After flowing about one hundred and ten 
miles, it receives the Nar {Nera), and from its confluence with this river 
its regular navigation begins. Three miles above Rome, at the distance of 
nearly seventy miles from the Nar, it receives the Anio ( Teverone), and 
from this point becomes a river of considerable importance. Within the 
walls of Rome, the Tiber is about three hundred feet wide, and from twelve 
ro eighteen feet deep. After heavy rains the river in ancient times, as at 
the present day, frequently overflowed its banks, and did considerable mis- 
chief to the lower parts of the city. (Compare notes on Ann., i., 76.) At 
Rome the maritime navigation of the river begins, and at eighteen miles 
from the city, and about four miles from the coast, it divides into two arms, 
forming an island, which was sacred to Venus, and called Insula Sacra 
(Isola Sagra). The left branch of the river runs into the sea by Ostia, 
which was the ancient harbor of Rome ; but in consequence of the accu- 
mulation of sand at the mouth of the left branch, the right branch was wi- 
dened by Trajan, and was made the regular harbor of Rome under the name 
of Portus Romanus, Portus Augusti, or simply Portus. The whole length 
of the Tiber, with its windings, is about two hundred miles. The waters 
of the river are muddy and yellowish, whence it is frequently called by the 
Roman poets flavus Tiberis. The poets also give it the epithets of Tyr 
.hcnus, because it flowed past Etruria during the whole of its course, and 
of Lydius, because the Etruscans, according to some, were of Lydian origin. 

TiciNUM. Now Pavia, a city in Gallia Cisalpina, on the left bank of 
the Ticinus (Tessino). The Lombards, who made it the capital of their 
lominions, gave it the name of Papia, from which its modern appellation, 
with a very slight change of form, has been derived. 

Tigurini. Vid. Helvetii. 

Tmolus. A celebrated mountain of Asia Minor, running east and west 
through the centre of Lydia, and dividing the plain of the Hermus, on the 
north, from that of the Cayster, on the south. At its eastern end it join* 
Mount Messogis, thus entirely enclosing the valley of the Cayster. On the 
west, after throwing out the northwestern branch called Sipylus, it runs far 
out into the JEgean, forming, under the name of Mimas, the great Ionian 
peninsula, beyond which it is still farther prolonged in the island of Chios. 
On its northern side are the sources of the Pactolus and Cogamus ; on it* 
southern side those of the Cayster. It produced wine, saffron, zinc, ano 



400 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Tolosa. A town of Gallia Narbonensis, now Tolouse. It was the cap- 
ital of the Tectosages, and was situate on the Garumna, near the frontiers 
of Aquitania. It was a large and wealthy place, and contained a celebra- 
ted temple, in which great riches were deposited. In this temple there is 
said to have been preserved a great part of the booty taken by Brennua 
from the temple at Delphi. The town and temple were plundered by the 
consul Q. Servilius Caepio, in B.C. 106; but the subsequent destruction of 
his army, and his own unhappy fate, were regarded as a divine punishment 
for his sacrilegious act. Hence arose the proverb, Aurum Tolosanum habet. 

Treveri. A powerful people in Gallia Belgica, who were faithful allies 
of the Romans, and whose cavalry was the best in all Gaul. The River 
Mosella flowed through their territory, which extended westward from the 
Rhine as far as the Remi. Their chief town was made a Roman colony by 
Augustus, and was called Augusta Treverorum, now Trier or Treves. It 
stood on the right bank of the Mosella, and became, under the later empire, 
one of the most nourishing Roman cities north of the Alps. It was the cap- 
ital of Belgica Prima ; and, after the division of the Roman world by Diocle- 
sian (A.D. 292) into four districts, it became the residence of the Caesar, 
who had the government of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. The modern city 
still contains many interesting Roman remains ; they belong, however, to 
the later period of the empire, and are consequently not in the best style 
of art. 

Triboci, or Tribocci. A German tribe, on the left bank of the Rhine 
and between that river and the Mediomatrici and Lerici. Their chief citv 
was Argentoratum, now Strasbourg. 

Trutulensis Portus. Consult notes on Agric, c. xxxviii. 

Tub antes. A German tribe, allies of the Cherusci. They originally 
dwelt between the Rhine and the Yssel; in the time of Germanicus, on the 
southern bank of the Lippe, between Paderborn, Hamm, and the Armsberger 
Wald; and at a still later time, in the neighborhood of the Thuringer Wald, 
between the Fulda and the "Werra. Subsequently they are mentioned as a 
part of the great league of the Franci. 

Tungri. A German tribe, who crossed the Rhine, and settled in Gaul, 
in the country formerly occupied by the Aduatici and the Eburones. Their 
chief town was called Tungri, or Aduatica Tungrorum, now Tongern or 
Tongresj on the road from Castellum Morinorum to Colonia Agrippina. 

Turonii, or Turones. A people in the interior of Gallia Lugdunensis, 
between the Aulerci, Andes, and Pictones. Their chief town was Caesa- 
rcdunum, subsequently Turoni, and now Tours, on the Liger (Loire). 

U. 
Ubii. A German people, who originally dwelt on the right bank of the 
Rhine, but were transported across the river by Agrippa, in B.C. 37, at 
their own request, because 1hey wished to escape the hostilities of the Sue- 
vi. They took the name of Agrippenses, from their chief town, Colonia 
Agrippina (Cologne), 



GEOORAPHICAL INDEX. 40! 

Ubiobum Ara. Consult notes on Ann., :., c. 39. 

Usipetes, or Usii'ii. A German people, who, being driven ott of their 
abodes by the Suevi, crossed the Rhine and penetrated into Gaul ; but 
they were defeated by Caesar, and compelled to recross the river. They 
were now received by the Sygambri, and allowed to dwell on the northern 
bank of the Lippe ; but we afterward find them south of the Lippe, and at 
a still later time they become lost under the general name of Alemanni. 

v - 

Vahalis. Vid. Rhenus. 

Vangiones. A German tribe, dwelling on the Rhine, to the east of 
the Treveri, and north of the Nemetes. Their capital was Borbetomagus, 
afterward called Augusta Vangionum, and now Worms. 

VarIni. A German tribe, placed by Ptolemy along the sea, from the 
mouth of the Trave to the Warne, which last doubtless took its name from 
them. They were afterward driven inland by Slavonian tribes, and united 
themselves with the Saxons. We find some traces of the Varini in Thu- 
ringia, others on the banks of the Elbe, and others in the neighborhood of the 
Rhine, where they were subdued by the Franks. They also appear on the 
south of the Danube, for they served as auxiliaries under Narses, in Italy. 

Velinus Lacus. A lake between Reate and Interamna, or, rather, the 
largest of several small lakes, formed by the overflowing of the River Veli- 
nus. In order to carry off these waters, a channel was cut through the rocks 
by Curius Dentatus, by means of which the waters of the Velinus were 
carried through a narrow gorge, to a spot where they fell from a height of 
several hundred feet into the Nar. This fall, which is one of the most cel- 
ebrated in Europe, is known at the present day by the name of the fall of 
Terni, or the cascade Delle Marmore. 

Venedi, or Vened^. A people in European Sarmatia, dwelling on the 
Baltic, to the east of the Vistula. The Sinus Venedicus {Gulf of Riga) and 
the Venedici Montes, a range of mountains between Poland and East Prus 
aia, were called after this people. 

Verulamium, or Verolamium. The chief town of the Catueliani, in 
Britain, probably the residence of the King Cassivellaunus, which was con- 
quered by Caesar. It was subsequently made a Roman municipium. It 
was destroyed by the Britons under Boadicea, in their insurrection against 
the Romans, but was rebuilt, and continued to be an important place. It 
answers now to St. Allan's, or, more correctly speaking, to Old Verulxm, 
near St. Albarts. 

Vetera. Consult notes on Ann., i., c. 45. 

Via Appia. The most celebrated of the Roman roads, called by Statius 
(Silv., ii., 2, 12) " Regina Viarum." It was commenced by Appius Clau- 
dius Caecus, when censor, B.C. 312, and was the great line of communica- 
tion between Rome and Southern Italy. It issued from the Porta Capena, 
and originally terminated at Capua, but it was eventually extended to the 
celebrated sea-port of Brundisium. 



402 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 

Vindelicia. A Roman province south of the Danube, bounded on th« 
north by the Danuoe, which separated it from Germany ; on the west by 
the territory of the Helvetii, in Gaul ; on the south by Raetia ; and on the 
east by the River GEnus (Inn), which separated it from Nori cum ; thus cor- 
responding to the northeastern part of Switzerland, the southeast of Baden, 
the south of Wurtemberg and Bavaria, and the northern part of the Tyrol, 
It was originally part of the province of Raetia, and was conquered by Ti- 
berius in the reign of Augustus. At a later time, Raetia was divided into 
two provinces, Ratia Prima and Ratia Secunda, the latter of which names • 
was gradually supplanted by that of Vindelicia. It was drained by the trib- 
utaries of the Danube, of which the most important were the Licias or Li- 
2 is (Lech), with its tributary the Vindo, Vinda, or Virdo (Werlach), the 
Isarus (Isar), and (Enus (Inn). The eastern part of the Lacus Briganti- 
nus (Lake of Constance) also belonged to Vindelicia. The greater part of 
Vindelicia was a plain, but the southern portion was occupied by the north- 
ern slopes of the Alpes Raeticae. This country derived its name from its 
chief inhabitants, the Vindelici, a warlike people dwelling in the south. 
Their name is said to have been formed from the two rivers Vindo and Li- 
cus, but it is more probably connected with the Celtic word Vind, which is 
found in the names Fmefobona, Vmdomagus, VindonissB., &c. The Vin- 
delici were a Celtic people, and were closely connected with the Raeti, 
with whom they are frequently spoken of by the ancient writers, and along 
with whom they were subdued by Tiberius, as is mentioned above. The 
other tribes in Vindelicia were the Brigantii, on the Lake of Constance ; the 
Licatii or Licates, on the Lech ; and the Brenni, in the north of the Tyrol, 
on Mount Brenner. The chief town in the province was Augusta Vindeli- 
corum ( Augsburg), at the confluence of the Vindo and the Licus, which was 
made a Roman colony A.D. 14, and was the residence of the governor of 
the province. 

Vistula. Now the Vistula, as it is called in English, but in German 
the Weichsel. An important river of Germany, forming the boundary be- 
tween Germany and Sarmatia. It rises in the Hercynia Silva, and falls 
into the Mare Suevicum, or Baltic. 

Visurgis. Now the Weser. An important river of Germany, falling into 
the German Ocean. Ptolemy makes it rise in Mount Melibceus, because 
the Romans were not acquainted with the southern course of the strata 
below Minden. 



